Tag: bookaholic

Discussion Post: The Benefits of Joining a Book Club

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There are so many benefits to joining a book club… and sharing a handful of these benefits is the purpose of today’s discussion post. A few months ago, I joined an online community and started reading along with Ezeekat’s book club on Fable.

Now more than ever, it is easy to join in! The effect of COVID-19 is that a lot of these previously in-person events went virtual. As someone who lives in a relatively small community, I have been unable to find a reading group locally. However, my brief experience of the online book club I have joined has been an enjoyable one. In this discussion post, I discuss a few of the benefits I have already enjoyed being a part of this group!

 

Accountability to read

One of the perks I don’t necessarily need as much, but will benefit other people greatly, is having accountability to pick up a book. I already read on a regular basis anyway. However, even for somebody who picks up books a lot, having a set read to pick up in a month and a conversation to take part in is motivation to get stuck in.

If you are someone who doesn’t read all that much, then having a deadline or a date in order to submit feedback by, can be the nudge in the right direction! What can be especially useful about platforms like Fable is that a book club host can prompt readers to offer feedback by chapter or section. That way, if you don’t get all the way through the book, you can still have your say. It’s also at your convenience, and however far you get!

At the same time, it’s okay to skip a month. I really wasn’t interested in last month’s book selection. So, I made the decision not to try and force myself through it and discussed that briefly in my March TBR post. And that was fine! There were no repercussions or callouts for making that decision. Ultimately, we want to read because it is something we enjoy… not because it is a chore we must endure.

Not every book will be for you, and there is no shame in choosing not to pick it up.

 

Reading out of comfort zone

Book clubs come in all shapes and sizes. Whether you choose to join one that focuses on a set genre, or even author, or go for something significantly broader, there is one out there for you.

Ultimately, the kind of group you decide to join will affect the book selections you are given. The broader the topic, the more adventurous I would recommend you being with your reading. I have favourite genres, but ultimately, I will pick almost anything up and give it a go. In fact, the main reason I wanted to join a book club is to help me read out of my comfort zone!

The book club I am part of at the moment tends to stick to books with a fantastical element. Readers of my blog will know that fantasy is by far my favourite genre. However, the books chosen (at least so far) often have other elements to the storyline. Some may have sci-fi elements, or a lean more into romance than I would choose to pick up myself.

Just because those are the nature of books being chosen at the moment, that’s not to say that won’t change in future. That is also the beauty of a book club. They can evolve over time… especially depending on the people that make up the group!

 

Community/Bookish Discussion

That leads me on nicely to my final point in this discussion post. There are lots of readers out there, and if you can immerse yourself in a community of like-minded people, and you can’t go far wrong. Especially with the power of going online, you can reach out to far more people than you could ever hope to meet in person.

Everybody who reads a book does so from a unique perspective. Everybody will have their own perception of the events based on who they are, and their experiences. No person, therefore, reads a book in the exact same way. For that reason, it’s great to be able to reach out to those people and discuss their alternate views.

Group size and setting can vary significantly, so I am sure you can find a community that works for you.

 

If you’re an avid reader and/or part of a book club, I’d love to know more! This is a discussion post after all! Do you meet in person, or online? If you aren’t part of a book club yet, is it something you would be interested in?

 

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Sunday Summary – 9th April 2023

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Happy Easter everyone and welcome to today’s Sunday Summary, regardless of whether you are religious or not! I hope you’re having a lovely weekend, however you are spending it.

In an ideal world, I’d have loved to have spent my whole weekend plonked on my backside and reading a book. However, household jobs get in the way, as always. I had to make the most of good weather on Friday to get out and tidy the garden. Thankfully I managed to get it all finished before the rain has come in. It wouldn’t be a British bank holiday without a bit of rain now, would it?

Onwards and upwards. This week I’ve had a busy one as I had to flit back to a four post schedule. Not only did I need to catch up and share my monthly wrap-up post for March, but I also had an obligation to review a book for a blog tour (Thanks For Sharing), and keep you up-to-date with my April TBR.

As always, I’ll provide a link to each of those posts above, if you want to go back and take a look at them.

 

Books Read

 

Thanks for Sharing

Due to the rapidly upcoming blog tour, in last week’s Sunday Summary post I shared that I was temporarily setting aside The Mad Ship in order to progress with Thanks For Sharing. As of that last Sunday Summary post, I had read the first chapter of the book, which was about 15% progress.

As my review was going live on the blog on Thursday, I had to get a shift on with this book. This was a really easy book to pick up. I was interested in the subject matter as I have recently been appointed a sustainability champion at work. I’ve also recently started recycling at home. I wanted to pick up Thanks For Sharing as a way of exploring other ways we can live a more sustainable lifestyle. Some of those are discussed in my review post on Thursday. If you want to check out more detail, I suggest you go back to that review.

Even though this book had an informative tilt, the narrative was really well written. Eleanor Tucker, embeds humour and plenty of real life anecdotes to bring us in to the family fold and her experiences of a sharing economy. I laughed out loud throughout reading this book. So, if you have any reservations about the subject matter being on the dry side, I can assure you, that is not the case!

 

The Mad Ship

With Thanks For Sharing now complete, I moved back to continuing progress with The Mad Ship by Robin Hobb.

I haven’t made any showstopping progress with this book – I read around 170 pages in the latter half of this week. I’ve had a busier blogging schedule this week, as well as jobs around the house and garden to do. It’s not surprising that my reading progress is less than I have enjoyed in the last couple of weeks. But, I’m still happy with the progress I’ve made and I’m looking forward to continuing this epic fantasy to see where we end up next.

 

Books Discovered

Recently, I started listening to a careers based podcast. I can’t exactly remember how I stumbled upon it. I must have been looking for a specific topic or episode, and from there, I started listening on a weekly basis. If you’re interested, the podcast is called the squiggly careers podcast.

After listening and enjoying more episodes featuring various topics that Sarah and Helen discuss, I discovered that they published a book in 2020 with a similar name to the podcast. That’s not the book I’ve added to my reading list. When looking into that first book, I discovered You Coach You, which they published in 2022.

Although a slightly different medium, I expect the same kind of narrative voice and feedback to come through from the book. As I’m trying to read more non-fiction this year, and I’ve already established a connection with these two authors, I imagine I will enjoy and find this book useful!

 

Coming Up…

I’m stepping back to a three post schedule next week. It is definitely a lot more manageable and sustainable in terms of my time, and also allows me to get more reading done. And let’s face it, that’s what I’m here for!

On Tuesday, I plan to share a discussion post with you. If you have been reading my blog in the last few months, you’ll know that I have started reading books as part of an online book club. In that post, I’m going to talk about the benefits I think there are to joining a book club and reading books out of your comfort zone.

On Friday, I’ll be back with a First Lines Friday feature post. As always, I’ll be taking a look for a book with an exciting introduction, and I’m telling you all about it!

My last post of the week will of course be my usual Sunday Summary update.

Now that you are all caught up, I am going to cosy in on this rainy Sunday evening and make more reading progress with The Mad Ship… and maybe tucking into Easter egg. Who am I kidding, there’s no maybe about it!

 

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Monthly TBR – April 2023

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It’s the Easter weekend and I’m excited to share my monthly TBR post for April 2023!

March was a bit of an unusual one in that I read lots, and had a very successful month that way. The reads I picked up weren’t as highly rated as those I picked up earlier in the year. However, I’m really happy with the overall experience.

This month, I’m aiming for a repeat of that… albeit if I rate these books higher than those I did in March, that’s a bonus. I have a very different selection of books to pick up, but I’m looking forward to them all!

Enough waffle – let’s dive into this monthly TBR!

 

Fixed Reads

 

The Adventures of Amina Al-Sirafi

I am back to taking part in the online book club run by Ezeekat. This month’s featured book is a relatively new publication – The Adventures of Amina Al-Sirafi. I really like the sound of this new fantasy novel. It sounds like a little bit of an epic fantasy in setting, but with strong piracy themes. It’s a little bit different to the sort of fantasy book. I will pick up under normal circumstances, and that’s why I would like to give it a try!

 

Thanks for Sharing

As of writing this post, I’ve already read and reviewed Thanks for Sharing for a blog tour.

I wanted to pick up the book as a means of getting some inspiration for ways we can live a more sustainable lifestyle. It was an interesting read all about the various ways we can adopt a sharing economy for goods that are infrequently used, or by goods with expiry dates coming up.

If you want to check my review, you can find that here.

 

Eagle of Mercia

Another book I’m reading for an upcoming blog tour is Eagle of Mercia by M.J. Porter.

So far, I’ve already read the first three books in this series, Son of Merica, Wolf of Mercia and Warrior of Mercia. I’ve really enjoyed reading and reviewing the series so far, and I’m looking forward to continuing the series.

I’ll be sharing my review for the upcoming blog tour on 3rd May, so I’ll be reading this in April ahead of that date.

 

Wolf of Wessex

Once a month I pull a book out of my TBR Jar (aka an owl mug sat on my bookshelves). This month, I pulled Wolf of Wessex by Matthew Harffy.

It’s pure coincidence that I’ve ended up with two historical fiction novels in a similar time period on my TBR this month. Based on the synopsis, the setting of Wolf of Wessex is slightly different. The narrative doesn’t deliberately allude to conflict between Saxons, but that may well presented self in the narrative. The book is very highly rated, and as this is a period of history that I clearly enjoy as I read it a lot, I’m looking forward to seeing how the narrative unfolds and whether I wish to pick up more books by this author.

 

Mood Reads

 

The Mad Ship

A bit like last month, I’m not really reading my books in the typical order. In previous months, I have prioritised my fixed reading list, and then move onto my mood reads later.

This month, I started the month with 120 pages of progress into The Mad Ship. Starting this book was my stretch goal outlined in March’s monthly TBR post. I then had to put this down temporarily in order to prioritise Thanks For Sharing for the blog tour. Now that obligation is complete, I am back with continuing with The Mad Ship.

Hardly unexpected, but I’m really enjoying this book so far. The first book does a lot of the ground work in the setting of this new trilogy. Now that is all set out, we can dive into the narrative and further the storylines quite quickly. I am already a third of the way through the book and enjoying it completely.

 

Stolen Focus

I wanted to read another non-fiction book this month. Looking through my TBR, I decided to get my hands on a copy of Stolen Focus by Johann Hari.

Some days, I am really good at setting myself goals and achieving what I set out to do. Other days, I can be really distracted. I am the type of person who will do multiple things at once in the name of multitasking, but really, am I achieving much? No, most often.

One of the things I’m working on is trying to pinpoint where the distractions come from so then I can limit them. I’m hoping this book can help with some insight as to why this happens, what circumstances may cause this in order to work on it.

 

Stretch Goal

 

The Hunchback of Notre Dame

As I did last month, I am setting myself a stretch goal of starting The Hunchback of Notre Dame before the end of the month.The average page count per day required this month is slightly higher. As of writing this post, I’m also slightly behind on my daily target. With that in mind, I might not get there. But, it is a goal to aim towards.

Another reason for doing this is that splitting down larger books intentionally over a couple of months makes them a little bit more manageable. The Hunchback of Notre Dame is quite a hefty book. Don’t get me wrong, I can read chunky books over the course of a month. I did it last month, and I’ll be doing it this month as well. However, with this being a classic as opposed to a book from my favourite genre, I will find this more approachable to read if I’m splitting over the two months.

Even if I can just start the book, I’ll be happy bunny!

 

Those are the books on my monthly TBR for April. 

Are you reading anything over the Easter weekend?

 

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Blog Tour Review: Thanks for Sharing – Eleanor Tucker

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Hello everybody and welcome to today’s blog tour review of Thanks for Sharing by Eleanor Tucker. Before I jump into today’s review, I’ll take the opportunity to say thank you to Rachel at Rachel’s Random Resources, and also to the author for the opportunity to read and share this book with you on its publication day!

I set out to read Thanks for Sharing to get inspiration on ways in which I can make a difference in terms of sustainability – personally, and through influence as a ‘Sustainability Champion’ at work. Thanks for Sharing has given me plenty of ideas to think about! I don’t doubt that all readers can take away ideas to make small changes for themselves as well. I would recommend this book to anybody who wants to start a more sustainable lifestyle.

 

Thanks for Sharing – Eleanor Tucker

In this fascinating book, Eleanor Tucker sets out a bold vision of how sustainable sharing can save us money, and lead to a happier future.

What is the Sharing Economy? How can it help us live more affordable, more sustainable, and ultimately more fulfilling lives? What would happen if for one year a family pledged to share as much as they possibly can? Instead ofowning more and more stuff, what it’s like to stop owning things and borrow, lend, rent and swap instead?

These are big questions, but features writer Eleanor Tucker sets out to answer them in this thoroughly absorbing and entertaining guide to sustainable sharing, or as it is also known, ‘collaborative consumption’.

In this engrossing study, Eleanor straps us into on her year-long experiment along with her somewhat reluctant family. Over the course of the year, with the aid of various sharing apps, they will pledge to buy as few new things as possible, instead relying on the power of sharing, lending, renting and borrowing to supply their needs.

Each chapter introduces a different type of sharing into her day to day life, from the little ‘things’ (food, clothes) to the bigger ’things’ (cars, furniture, the space around us), and shows how the growth of tech has revolutionized an age-old practice.

The book contains best-for recommendations based around different types of sharing, to create an easily accessible shortcut into sharing.

Written with warm and relatable humour as well as a deeply-researched knowledge of the history of sharing, this unmissable guide could truly change the way you consume.

 

Purchase Link – https://geni.us/ThanksforSharing

 

My Thoughts

I have recently been appointed a local ‘Sustainability Champion’ in my workplace. We are at the stage where the team is quite new and ideas are fresh, so I wanted to look at the topic from a different perspective. Ultimately, my aim was to gain ideas as to what improvements we can make. I got that from this book!

Thanks for Sharing is split into two sections. The first mainly focuses on smaller and individual changes that people can make to reduce waste, or mass production of goods that are used infrequently and can be shared. The second half of the book deals with more of the ‘big’ ideas. For example, the impact of commuting and travel and how people can reduce their carbon footprint.

I enjoyed looking at both sides of the same coin. When we think about the environment and sustainability, we often think of these large, mass scale results that need to take place in order to see a global benefit. However, the first section of the book goes to show that we can do that by each taking small steps. Not only that, but it emphasises the point that taking any step in the right direction is better than doing nothing at all.

Let me say that again. Taking any step in the right direction is better than doing nothing at all.

I must admit, when reading some of these examples of sharing, I would think “yes, but…”. There are plenty of reasons why the suggestions made ‘as is’ in the book wouldn’t work for me. A lot of that is down to where I live, or my lifestyle. But, there’s more to the suggestions than just taking them as given. For example, food sharing apps are talked about in the early parts of the book. They wouldn’t be practical for me because food is listed and disappears quickly. Frankly, I don’t have the time to manage that. However, there is no reason why I can’t manage the food I buy and use more effectively. That part of the concept isn’t complicated, and I have plenty of other ways to make sure that food gets redistributed to someone who can use it.

Another surprising element I really enjoyed about this book, is the humour. Through Eleanor‘s narrative, we really get to know her and her family. We get to laugh at mishaps/irony of children puking on carpets just after the borrowed carpet cleaner is returned. We experience sullen children/teenagers that you can’t get off games consoles, or who make themselves scarce so they don’t have to help pitching a borrowed tent in the rain. I laughed out loud throughout reading this book.

Even though Eleanor has gone well out of her way to try different aspects of the ‘Sharing Economy’, we see a family life that we all recognise in amongst all this change. The familiarity goes along way in helping readers visualise ways we can incorporate similar changes into our daily lives. 

 

Author Bio

Eleanor Tucker is a former advertising creative and features writer for The Guardian, The Observer, The Independent, Marie Claire, and Psychologies, commentating on gender, society, sustainability, tech and lifestyle. She now writes, speaks, and advises startups all over the world on the sharing economy space.

She is on the board of the CBI council Sharing Economy UK, and also co-founded and chairs the committee of the Sharing Economy Global Summit. Passionate about the potential of online platforms to democratize, empower communities and help us live more sustainably. Elle advises on gig and sharing economy models – working internationally to help start-ups and scale-ups to launch, grow and thrive. Originally from Oxford in England, Eleanor was educated at Edinburgh University in Scotland, where she now lives with her husband and two young children. THANKS FOR SHARING is her first book.

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Monthly Wrap-Up – March 2023

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Hello my friends and welcome to my monthly wrap-up for March 2023! I hope you have had a good reading month as I have!

This month was a little bit of a bizarre experience, because it seemed to start off quite slowly. Then again, I did start with quite a large book. By the time I worked my way through that one, the pages seemed to fly! In my monthly TBR for March, I set myself my typical TBR, but also included a stretch goal. That goal was to start one further book before the end of the month. And, I achieved that goal!

Normally, I tend to read books on my fixed reading list first in the month, and then revert to my mood reads. However, it didn’t really happen this month. Instead, I’m going to share the books I read in March in chronological order.

 

Books Read

 

Africa Risen

As of my last monthly wrap-up post, I was at 68% through Africa Risen and hoping to finish this early in March. I definitely pushed my way through this one.

It was an interesting book as it is written in a format I don’t read very often – an anthology. It made a change to read a collection of shorter stories and feature new perspectives, as opposed to those traditionally seen in westernised fantasy.

However, I didn’t love this book. I definitely prefer longer and more established narratives rather than collections of short stories. I like to get stuck in with a plot and engage with it in detail rather than check in with it superficially. These types of books do have good sides though. The main advantage of this shorter format was that I got to explore multiple different characters and perspectives.

As with all books, there were some elements/stories I wasn’t fussed on at all. There was some I did like. I’ve taken away what I wanted from them, but I will probably stick to predominantly non-anthologies in future.

 

A Game of Thrones

As I’ve heard on the grapevine that we can expect the sixth book in the series out in the not too distant future, I decided to start a re-read of the series. It’s going to take me some time to get through. Even this first book is approaching 800 pages long. Some of the books are so long that they are split into two. With that in mind, I wanted to make an early start, so I wasn’t having to rush through the books in order to be able to read the sixth one when it comes out.

As expected, I really enjoyed this re-read. This is the fourth time I have picked up A Game of Thrones. It is one of those books that I can pick up again and again and I will love just as much with every re-read.

As I mentioned in my introduction above, it did seem a little bit slow going at the beginning of the month. A 780 odd page book isn’t something to be devoured in a matter of days. I spent approximately half the month getting through this book alone! That said, it was great to go back to the beginning of the series, and I’m looking forward to picking up more books throughout the year.

 

The Book Eaters

Disappointingly, The Book Eaters didn’t live up to the expectation that the title led me to anticipate. Obviously, there is an element of book eating in the storyline. However, it wasn’t unique or pivotal enough for me to think it mattered. Ultimately, the main characters could have been substituted for any other minority group, and it would be the same.

The Book Eaters was a strange read in that I didn’t really enjoy it overall, there was enough intrigue in the plot to make me want to finish it. This book is also relatively short read at under 300 pages. By the time I made my mind up, I was a third of the way in. I decided to just crack on with it and give it a chance to redeem itself.

Sadly, I did end up disappointed with this book, and it achieved a rare rating from me – just two stars.

 

Feet of Clay

Looking for a bit of a pick me up, I then decided to read a firm favourite author – Terry Pratchett.

I’m a little bit embarrassed to admit how long it has been since I last picked up a Discworld novel. I like these books because they have a wide, overarching setting but with different sets of characters.

If I’m entirely honest, Feet of Clay wasn’t quite the pick me up I was hoping. It was still a decent read. However, the humour didn’t quite work for me in this particular book. I enjoy the city watch series in general, so I’ll still read the future books. But, it wasn’t my favourite either. Feet of Clay has some interesting messages and themes in the story, which I did appreciate. 

 

Soul Identity

Next, I picked up Soul Identity by Dennis Batchelder. This is a completely different genre and setting to the books I picked up so far in my March TBR. The best way I can describe Soul Identity is a scientific take on concepts like reincarnation.

Naturally, there is an element of religion and belief that comes into this narrative. I quite enjoyed how these concepts were explored both separately and together.

I didn’t overly love the main character, Scott, and I wasn’t a fan of the budding relationship between him and computer geek, Val. The author also has a terrible habit of describing female characters physically before going onto any other redeeming attributes. Although well noted for her intelligence, even Val falls victim to becoming most significant in the narrative because she’s pretty.

The relationship that forms between them didn’t really add much to the story, which I was hoping it would. It’s almost like it was added in there to give the narrative a bit more mainstream appeal and to make the subject matter a little bit more readable. I didn’t really do that for me, but that’s certainly the impression I get.

It was still a decent read, and I wouldn’t let it put me off picking up other books in the series.

 

Death of Kings

Death of Kings is where I really started to see some improvement in my reading experience! Death of Kings is the sixth book in the Saxon stories series, better known as The Last Kingdom.

I really enjoy the perspective we get in the use of books. Our protagonist Uhtred was born as a Saxon, but his settlement was raided and he was raised by Danes from a very young age. As a result, he has this ongoing conflict between these two factions and ways of life. He is a fierce warrior and ally to the king of Wessex, King Alfred. However, he also has ties to the Danes and in particular, their values in life and take on religion.

In this book, Uhtred stirs up a fair bit of trouble. I enjoy reading this mischievous side of him, and how he interject himself between these two rival sides. It undoubtedly gives him an edge, but also we experience the ups and downs of the conflict and his internal conflict throughout.

It is also been a little while since I last picked up a book from the series. I’m glad to say that I’m now back into it, and in line with my goal of reading more sequels this year, I’m hoping to continue with this one.

 

The Mad Ship

My stretch goal for March, after reading the books above, was to make a start on The Mad Ship by Robin Hobb.

I knew that I wasn’t going to get through this book in the slightest. On its own, this book is just over 900 pages long! My aim was to just get myself introduced to the characters and pick up from where we left off in the previous book. If I would put a figure on it, I was hoping to maybe get through the first 50-100 pages.

By the end of the month, I just exceed that goal in reading 120 pages. Even though I’ve already read that much, there are still characters we are getting reacquainted with. There are a lot of contributors in this narrative, and as each chapter is a reasonable length, I daresay I’ll be spending the first 200 odd pages picking back up where we left off!

Given that I read the first book fairly recently, there’s been less of an adjustment period compared to picking up the first book. That narrative was quite different from the first trilogy I read, so took some getting into. However, I’ve already read that book and invested in the storyline and characters. Starting this book was a breeze!

 

In all, I read close to 3000 pages in March… which is the most this year so far! If you’re till with me, thanks for taking the time to read this monthly wrap-up post. 

Have you read any of the books I’ve featured today? Are they on your reading list?

 

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Sunday Summary – 2nd April 2023

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Good evening and welcome to today’s weekly catch up post – aka my Sunday Summary! I hope you’ve had a good week? I’ve had a good one as I took the latter half of the week off work. I did a couple of small jobs around the house. Otherwise, I dedicated my time to reading, gaming and some cross stitch!

Naturally, I’ve also been posting bookish content for you. On Wednesday, I shared my last review of my re-read of the Harry Potter series! I really enjoyed reading these books again as an adult. If you want to read all my thoughts on the books and the wider series, there is a link above to that last post. That also contains links to the previous reviews if you want to catch up from the beginning.

On Friday, I shared a Shelf Control post. In this series, I feature books coming up on my TBR and share them with you. I also talk about why I’m interested to pick these books up. I confess that behind the scenes, I’ve even whittled down my reading list by doing this series. This week’s featured book is a work of classical fiction by a Russian author and philosopher. No, not Leo Tolstoy. I was inspired to pick this up based on my experience of War and Peace though!

 

Books Read

 

Soul Identity

I picked up from last week’s Sunday Summary post by finishing Soul Identity by Dennis Batchelder. As of that post, I was 71% through the book. My plan was to finish the book on Sunday after my Sunday Summary post went live, which I did.

Two small comments I would make is that I don’t feel the relationship between the protagonist Scott, and Val, was necessary. Also, I didn’t like how the majority of female characters were introduced by their appearance. They’re not deal-breaking things, but it did bring my review down to 4 stars.

Otherwise, I enjoyed the book overall. It explores some interesting spirituality and religious concepts of reincarnation from a scientific perspective. I knew that was the premise of the book, but had no idea how the story would go about it. It was perfectly enjoyable and quite an easy read.

 

Death of Kings

Another easy read I picked up this week was Death of Kings by Bernard Cornwell. This is the sixth book in his Saxon Stories series, also known as The Last Kingdom.  At around 350 pages, this book is a good length to progress the story without getting bogged down in too much detail.

There is still plenty of action that takes place in these 350 pages. As ever, we see the conflict Uhtred has between his Saxon birth but Norse upbringing. Needless to say, it gives a unique perspective to this historical fiction narrative… and he gets up to a lot of mischief!

It was good to finally go back to this series. I read the previous book, The Burning Land, back in 2020. Now I’m back into the series, and actively looking to read sequels this year, you can expect I’ll be picking more of these books up soon!

 

The Mad Ship

So, with the last of the books on my ‘set’ TBR read, I achieved my stretch goal this month by starting The Mad Ship by Robin Hobb. Before the end of the month, I read the first 120 pages of this 906 page epic! As of this post, I am now 174 pages in – a healthy start!

In what I’ve read so far, we are only really just getting caught up with all the plot-driving characters in their various locations. Robin Hobb isn’t exactly known for short chapters. It’s taken that time to pick up where we left off in the last book. I can’t wait to see where the narrative takes us from here!

 

Thanks for Sharing

In addition to the above, I’ve also started a book on my April TBR. That’s because I’m taking part in a blog tour for the book next week. I signed up for it just a couple of weeks ago, so I need to get a shift on with it!

Thanks for Sharing is a short non-fiction book about sharing rather than purchasing new. The author spent about a year experimenting with different ways to share various goods and reduce consumerism/waste. I’ll admit I was inspired to take up the offer of this blog tour as I’ve recently taken up the mantle of sustainability champion at work.

I picked this book up just this morning and I’ve already progressed through the first chapter. That’s about 15% progress. Given the deadline, I’ll be prioritising this read in the short term and then going back to The Mad Ship once I’ve finished this one. Given that it’s only 250 odd pages, I should have this finished in a day or two.

 

Books Discovered

I’m back to a week of no news this week. Since I added four books last week, I haven’t been out or particularly looking for anything new.

So, no news is good news!

 

Coming Up…

I’ve enjoyed a three post per week schedule for the last fortnight, but out of necessity, I will be sharing four posts next week.

Since we are already into the beginning of April, my first post of the week will be my monthly wrap-up post for March. I’ve had a great reading month, so I have plenty to share with you in that post. I hope you can log on to check that out in the next couple of days.

Next, I have my blog tour post for Thanks for Sharing going live on Thursday next week. As I mentioned above, I’ve only just started the book today. However, I’m looking forward to sharing my thoughts on the book and whether I’ll be trying anything featured in the book for myself. 

I also have my monthly TBR for April to publish. I’ve already christened the list, so I know what I’m picking up this month. You can expect that list later this week. I’ll be aiming to publish the list on Friday, but I won’t kick myself if it gets pushed out to Saturday.

I’ll round up the week with my usual Sunday Summary update, with all my reading progress in the usual format.

For now though, that’s all from me in today’s Sunday Summary.

What are you reading?

 

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Shelf Control #63 – 31/03/2023

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Happy Friday and welcome to another Shelf Control feature post! It’s hard to believe that last time I shared this post two weeks ago, I was snowed in! That’s flown by! It would also have been appropriate to today’s featured book, as it is a classical fiction novel set in St Petersburg. I’ll admit my reading of books set in Russia is limited to Leo Tolstoy’s War and Peace, but I for sure recall a wintry setting.

The author of today’s feature is not Leo Tolstoy, but another Russian author who is associated with writing classics and philosophy. Blessedly, today’s book is also shorter than the epic that War and Peace is – I’m hopeful I will enjoy it just the same!

Before I showcase today’s book, let’s quickly recap what my Shelf Control feature is all about.

Shelf Control is a regular feature – a meme run by Lisa at Bookshelf Fantasies. It’s a celebration of the unread books on our shelves! The idea is to pick a book you own but haven’t read and write a post about it (suggestions: include what it’s about, why you want to read it, and when you got it), and link up!

If you want to read more about the Shelf Control feature, check out Lisa’s introductory post.

 

Crime and Punishment – Fyodor Dostoevsky

Genre: Classic / Philosophy

Pages: 656

Audience: Adult

Publisher: Penguin Classics

Publication Date: 01 Jan 1866

 

 

Goodreads – Crime and Punishment

‘Crime? What crime?…My killing a loathsome, harmful louse, a filthy old moneylender woman…and you call that a crime?’

Raskolnikov, a destitute and desperate former student, wanders through the slums of St Petersburg and commits a random murder without remorse or regret. He imagines himself to be a great man, a Napoleon: acting for a higher purpose beyond conventional moral law. But as he embarks on a dangerous game of cat and mouse with a suspicious police investigator, Raskolnikov is pursued by the growing voice of his conscience and finds the noose of his own guilt tightening around his neck. Only Sonya, a downtrodden prostitute, can offer the chance of redemption.

This vivid translation by David McDuff has been acclaimed as the most accessible version of Dostoyevsky’s great novel, rendering its dialogue with a unique force and naturalism. This edition also includes a new chronology of Dostoyevsky’s life and work.

 

My Thoughts

I’ve got a long term goal of working my way through novels that are categorised as classics. Naturally, this is already an extensive list and will only grow longer. You know me though, I’m not defeated by the prospect of a lengthy reading list. God knows I’ve had one long enough to be used to the idea by now.

I purchased a paperback copy of this book after reading War and Peace. Was War an Peace an approachable novel for the time period and history? I’m sure there would have been better. However, despite the size and newness of the setting and writing style to me, I enjoyed this book. Clearly, I wanted to read more, otherwise, I wouldn’t have gotten a copy of this book ready to go.

This is the first book I have and will be reading by Fyodor Dostoevsky. He has written numerous others that are also deemed ‘classics’. This is probably the one he is most known for. It is certainly the one I am most familiar with by title. It’s been a while since I read War and Peace, so I’m ready to take on another book of its ilk. I liken the two books, purely because I have read so little Russian literature. They may be completely different. I’ll let you know once I’ve read it!

Have you read Crime and Punishment?

 

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Book Review: Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows – J.K. Rowling

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Happy Wednesday readers! I’m back with another book review today. I’ve been taking the time to review the Harry Potter books after my re-read of the series in 2021/2022. Today’s review is for the final, and my favourite book of the of series, Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows.

If you want to read up on my reviews of the earlier books in the series, you can find links to those posts below.

 

Now, let’s get stuck in to my review of the final book!

 

Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows – J. K. Rowling

Genre: Fantasy

Pages: 759

Audience: Young Adult

Publisher: Bloomsbury

Publication Date: 21 Jul 2007

Rating: 🌟🌟🌟🌟🌟

 

Goodreads – Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows

Harry has been burdened with a dark, dangerous and seemingly impossible task: that of locating and destroying Voldemort’s remaining Horcruxes. Never has Harry felt so alone, or faced a future so full of shadows. But Harry must somehow find within himself the strength to complete the task he has been given. He must leave the warmth, safety and companionship of The Burrow and follow without fear or hesitation the inexorable path laid out for him…

In this final, seventh installment of the Harry Potter series, J.K. Rowling unveils in spectacular fashion the answers to the many questions that have been so eagerly awaited.

 

My Thoughts

 

Plot

Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows is by far my favourite book in the series. We get to see al the plot threads that have been unveiled and unraveling for some time finally come together. I also enjoy hope this book follows on nicely from Harry Potter and the Half Blood Prince in that its content is more mature than the previous books. There isn’t a happy ending for everybody! I think the plot, through either the books or films, is well enough known that I’m not really spoiling anything here…

I also enjoy how this final book deviates from the typical structure we have seen throughout the rest of the series. The rest of the books are written with the narrative starting in the summer holidays, progressing through the school terms, and then wrapping up at the end of the school year. In Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows, we almost completely break away from that.

There are some twists in the plot that I didn’t necessarily expect the first time I read the books. Naturally, with this being a re-read of the series, nothing surprised me the second time. However, I was able to more appreciate the set up and execution of them. There are some plot threads that begin in the very early books in the series. It will have taken some planning in order to incorporate these elements throughout the series and finally bring them to a close towards the end. I really appreciated those this time around. 

 

Narrative Style

Throughout the series, the Harry Potter books have been easy to read. Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows is no exception to that rule. In this final book, the narrative deals with a lot of plot threads that initially float around before coming together throughout the book. Even though there are quite a lot of unresolved conflicts and such to juggle and wrap up, this isn’t overwhelming. There are gradual revelations and resolutions throughout the book. It’s almost gives a sense of gratification that the ending isn’t being rushed and helps to pace the novel nicely.

As I mentioned briefly above, the structure of this book changes quite significantly to that we have experienced earlier. That has to happen in order for the story to progress as it does. That could be a challenge if you are expecting the same format. However, not only did I find it easy to follow, but I actually preferred that it broke away from that. It was getting slightly repetitive; had it gone on for much longer then I would start to get bored with it. Moving away from the structure means that instead of working towards an epic conclusion at the end, the author was able to intersperse more throughout the novel in a more paced way. Don’t worry, there is still an epic conclusion as well!

 

Characters

In Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows, we finally see the battle lines drawn, and we know who sides with who.

In terms of active characters throughout the plot line, this is very similar to the penultimate book of the series, Harry Potter and the Half Blood Prince. There are a good number of individuals that stand out in these books and we have grown to love them throughout the series. There aren’t really any surprises as to who stands out from the crowd, and we finally get to see these people shine.

As with all good writers, the author hasn’t pulled her punches in this book. Although I knew what to expect reading this for the second time, reading the events, and the impact on characters lives, still hit me just as hard as it did the first time.

 

Summary

I would recommend the Harry Potter series to pretty much anybody. They are the perfect mix of fantasy and magic that are approachable to anybody, regardless of your experience of the genre. They are books to grow with over time. The early series is relatively juvenile in size and complexity, but not in such a way that it feels oversimplified to an adult reader. This series progresses and we get more complexity and darker themes as the story expands into the later novels.

I grew up reading this series and appreciated these books even when I read them the first time. Going back and picking them up for a second time was just as enjoyable an experience as the first. I’m pretty sure I will go back and read them again at some point later in my life. I have a friend who could read these books on loop and not get bored!

Have you read any books from the Harry Potter series? Let me know in the comments.

 

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Sunday Summary – 26th March 2023

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Evening all and welcome to another weekly catch up in today’s Sunday Summary post! I hope you’ve had a good week?

This week, I decided to stick with posting just three blog posts instead of four. I have to say, it’s really agreeing with me! Keeping up with a four post per week schedule is quite tricky. I have been doing it for a little while now, but I have appreciated cutting that back down to three in the last couple of weeks. If I’m honest, I think that change is here to stay.

So, what have I been sharing this week? My first blog post of the week was a discussion post on how I decide what books to unhaul when clearing down my shelves. In that post, I also talk about the types of books that I tend to buy in physical copy, as well as the decision-making process behind making space for more. As always, you can find a link to that post above.

My second blog post of the week was shared on Friday. I recently took the decision to move my Well, I Didn’t Know That! series to a Friday and rotate it with my other regular Friday features. This was the way I figured would be easiest to go back down into a three posts a week schedule. It also makes it a little bit easier for me to read up on content for each of these posts. The point of the series is to feature media other than books. I’m obviously reading a lot already, so this is extra work!

For this week’s post, I found an interesting article in the BBC History magazine about the role of debtor’s prisons in 18th and 19th century Britain. If you think we have money worries now, check out that post and things may seem a little easier!

 

Books Read

I didn’t get off to the best of starts this week. However, that wasn’t really unexpected.

 

The Book Eaters

I left off from last week’s Sunday Summary update with just 70 pages left of The Book Eaters by Sunyi Dean. If I’m being frank, I wasn’t overly enjoying the book, but there was enough intrigue in the plot to keep me going to the conclusion. It was also a relatively short book, which made it easier for me to just suck it up and get on with it.

I finished it. As expected, I didn’t really enjoy it. Don’t get me wrong, the book has interesting elements in it, like the oppression of women and the lengths they will go to to protect their children. However, the way the book is sold doesn’t necessarily reflect the story you get. If I’m honest, I don’t think the character development has much bearing on the story. It is sold as a book about Book Eaters, devourers of stories. But, that didn’t really have any major significance to the story line. It could have been substituted with ‘any other minority group isolated from society’ and a ‘different child’ within that community, and it would’ve been the same book.

It is a little disappointing, but these things happen. In the end, the book did achieve a rare, two star rating from me. Looking back at my history, there are very few books that I actually gave a two star rating to. The only reason it got higher than a one star rating is because there was enough in the plotline to compel me to continue with it and figure out what the heck was going on. In any other circumstance, I’d have DNF’d it. 

 

Feet of Clay

After my experience of The Book Eaters, I wanted to try and go for a book that would completely turn around my experience. With that in mind, I decided to fall back on an old favourite of mine – Terry Pratchett and his next instalment of the Discworld series, Feet of Clay.

Whilst perfectly readable, I don’t think this is one of the better works of the series I’ve read. I quite like the city watch series in general, but this book was pretty average. It was interesting enough to read, and I did quite quickly. But, this book only got a marginally better rating of three stars.

It was nice to go back to an already familiar world and setting. It has been a bit too long since I last picked up the series. I enjoyed going back to it and getting myself back into the humour and writing style that I’ve come to enjoy over the series so far. Now that I’m back into it, I definitely need to make sure I continue with it!

 

Soul Identity

Next, I started another relatively short read – Soul Identity by Dennis Batchelder. My experience of this book is proving better than the last two.

I like the concept and premise behind the book. In essence, Soul Identity combines science and, to a degree, spirituality, to explore the concept of the soul and reincarnation. It’s not quite the way I expected the story was going to go, but in my opinion, it’s better. I like the scientific angle of the book, and that it has a little less emphasis on religion than I was expecting.

The way the narrative is written, we get to explore this wider concept in the midst of a mystery that our protagonist, as a skeptic, is trying to solve.

As with the previously discussed books, there are little things that I don’t necessarily feel are required in the storyline. Unless it becomes relevant later, I am not really a fan of the Scott/Val relationship dynamic. I’m also not really keen on the authors introduction of female characters to be based on their description, with other attributes and personality coming later. But, it’s not enough to put me off reading further.

As of this Sunday Summary update, I am 71% through the book. My kindle suggests that I have just over an hour of reading time left. My plan is to try and squeeze a much is that in tonight before I go to bed.

 

Books Discovered

I’ve finally broken the record run I’ve had of reporting no new books to the reading list in my Sunday Summary posts, all thanks to my decision to finally spend birthday book vouchers. And of course, you know I’m going to do it in style. I treated myself to four new books on Friday. They are written in mixed media just like Illuminae, so definitely best experienced in print. 

The first two are additional books in a series I started fairly recently (Gemina and Obsidio by Amie Kaufman and Jay Kristoff – the second and third book in The Illuminae Files).

I also treated myself to two stand-alone books that I wanted to pick up (The Midnight Library by Matt Haig and Elektra by Jennifer Saint). The former was on my radar and the latter already on my TBR. They also happened to be buy one get one half price. Shame, right?

 

Coming Up…

Once again, I’m continuing with a three post schedule. It’s definitely a lot easier for me to fit my reading in and enjoy free time for other hobbies. As much as I enjoy my reading and blog, if I overcommit myself, it can become like a second job!

It has been a few weeks since I last shared a book review with you guys. Given that I have reviewed almost all of the Harry Potter series now, I think it makes sense to conclude that set of reviews. So, I’ll be sharing my thoughts on Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows next week. If you want to find out what my thoughts are on re-reading this book as an adult, check out that post.

On Friday, I’m back with a Shelf Control post. In this Friday feature, I review books on my TBR and talk about why I’m excited to pick them up. This week’s feature is another classic novel written by a Russian novelist, of which I have a copy ready to pick up!

As always, my last post of the week will be my Sunday Summary update.

That’s all from me in today’s Sunday Summary. I made a lot of reading progress this week, and I’m off to make more before turning in!

What are you reading?

 

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Well I Didn’t Know That! #8

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Everybody has money on their minds right now. We are in the depths of a cost of living crisis. However bad things may seem, they are arguably better now than they were in Britain during the 1800s… when you could be thrown in prison on an indefinite charge if you owed money to someone, or many people. That is the topic of today’s Well I Didn’t Know That! post. 

To quickly recap the premise of this feature, the aim is to encourage reading in all ways. Whilst I talk about books a lot, there are plenty of other ways to learn. So far, I’ve featured news articles, websites, periodicals and a podcast. Here is a link back to this introductory post for more information. 

 

Today’s Well I Didn’t Know That! feature post covers an article I read in April 2023’s edition of BBC History magazine. Whilst the topic of the post is about the misery many people suffered as a result of the debtor’s prison, the article also highlights that the British economy could not have thrived without it. If you want to read the article for yourself, it starts on page 36.

 

The British economy in the 1800’s

Much like today, the British economy relied heavily on credit in the 1800s. Rather than big institutions as is more familiar today, it was common to owe money to individual traders. How you were assessed for credit depended on your reputation and standing in society. Bizarrely, factors including attending church went a long way to bolstering your reputation, meaning you are more likely to be given credit. There were no such thing as credit scores based on your actual finances in those days!

However, if you fell afoul of your creditors, they could pay a small fee to arrange your arrest and incarceration in a debtor’s prison.

 

What Was a Debtor’s Prison?

There were many debtor’s prisons throughout Britain during the 18th and 19th century. They were places where individuals were held until such time as their financial matters are resolved (either by family or friends, or by working off the debt themselves).

The kicker in this arrangement is that being committed to the debtor’s prison wasn’t free. It was the responsibility of the imprisoned to pay for their commitment costs, as well as for their eventual release. It was also common for there to be better sides of prison than others. For an additional fee, you could upgrade to the better side, and have access to what we would consider basic items now, such as private space and bedding, in exchange for rent.

Depending on your situation, this could be beneficial or not. If you found yourself in the circumstance of having to work your way out of the debtor’s prison, then your profession may warrant the need for private space to work. If your family also joined you in debtor’s prison (because that was a thing – married women were not responsible for finances and could therefore not be legally imprisoned, yet frequently followed their husbands to stay together).

 

What changed?

A shift in the way British people worked changed the system irrevocably. Whereas individuals were frequently tradesmen in their own right in the 18th century, there was a shift towards what is called wage labour by the 19th century. To you and me, that’s working for another and being paid as wage to do so… much as many of us do today. This increase in wage labour enabled people to pay cash for their goods rather than depend on credit. As a result, the need for credit dwindled; fewer individuals defaulted and debtor’s prisons fell out of use. In 1869, the law allowing indefinite imprisonment for owing money to another, without trial, was overturned.

 

Debtor’s prisons shattered the lives of many families. Even famous authors such as Charles Dickens had their lives overturned by this scenario. As many as 1 in 25 men were at risk of being thrown in debtor’s prison at some point. The impact of this practice can be seen in works of Charles Dickens literature; in his novel, Little Dorrit, a character is waiting for release from debtor’s prison. In David Copperfield, a character mirrors Charles’s own life in having to leave school to support his family. His father was imprisoned for three months in 1824.

So, that is all for today’s Well I Didn’t Know That! feature post.

Did you know about the existence of debtor’s prisons? 

 

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