Tag: bookblog

Sunday Summary – 9th July 2023

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Good evening all and welcome to my Sunday Summary update for this week! Get yourself a cuppa and make yourself comfortable.

Before jumping into the books I’ve been reading throughout the week, let’s recap the blog posts I’ve shared. The first post shared this week was my monthly wrap-up post, covering reading progress in June. Whilst I didn’t read as much as I was hoping to, I enjoyed the books I did finish. If you want to read my full recap, you can find that in my wrap-up post linked above.

On Friday, it was time to talk about the books I plan to pick up and read in July. This month’s reading list is no less ambitious. I have a higher number of books on the reading list, but they are also shorter than the books. Amongst those are a number of books I need to read for upcoming blog tours. In addition, I’ve set myself a stretch goal to start a book I didn’t get to in June. If you’re curious to see what’s on the reading list for the month, here is the link to my post.

 

Books Read

 

The House in the Cerulean Sea

I left off last week’s Sunday Summary post having read a third of The House in the Cerulean Sea by T.J. Klune. I spent around the first half of this week continuing with that book, until it’s happy and heartwarming conclusion.

This is the first book I have read by the author, but I can assure you it won’t be the last! I loved the premise, the relationships and the diverse range of characters in the book. Whilst the ending of this book isn’t one I actively seek out in my reading, it worked in this book and I was routing for it!

Where I put down Children of Dune by Frank Herbert last week because it is a serious, political science-fiction, The House in the Cerulean Sea’s lighthearted charm what’s the perfect counter. It’s what I needed to read to get me out of that slump!

 

Death at the Caravan Park

The next book I picked up is the first book on my July TBR – Death at the Caravan Park by Susan Willis. So far, the book is reading okay. At about a third of the way in, we have the storyline and the titled death set up. Given that we’ve been introduced to a number of characters at this point, it will be interesting to see how the narrative unfolds so we can discover what has occurred.

It’s not something I can judge the book on in my review given that I am reading a draft, but I’m not sure the narrative style is completely polished. It initially took some getting used to, but I’ve gotten used to it enough now.

As I will be sharing my review for the book next week, this will be my priority read for the next few days!

 

Eleanor Oliphant is Completely Fine

On Friday, I took a stroll down to my local library and borrowed Eleanor Oliphant is Completely Fine by Gail Honeyman. And, as I’d forgotten to take my Kindle to work in order to continue with Death at the Caravan Park, I made a sneaky start on this book.

The unique character and writing style has me hooked so much that I am reading these two books in tandem. There is definitely a lot going on already, and plenty more has been alluded to, but not yet unpacked! I’m intrigued about the main character, her undisclosed past and her unusual relationship with her mother.

Since that lunchtime, I have continued reading the book over the weekend. At the point of publishing this post, I am on page 145.

I know I have to prioritise Death at the Caravan Park for my review. I suspect that my desire to return to this book will only help me through that one even faster! If that’s the case, then I should have plenty of reading updates in next week’s Sunday Summary!

 

Books Discovered

I finally broken my streak of no new books being added to the reading list.

I blame this as a result of joining Threads earlier this week. If you’re unfamiliar, Threads is a new social media network run by Meta and is an alternative to Twitter. Whilst I’ve been using Twitter for the entirety of my blogging “career” (for want of a better word), I confess I’ve never really liked it. I’ve decided to give Threads a try to see if it’s any more approachable. It’s proving to be so far, but time will tell.

It is through that social network that I have discovered new people and my new addition. It is a relatively new publication – The Housekeepers by Alex Hay. I really like the sound of this book as it touches on power, gender and class. It involves a heist, which I think will make for an exciting read. I enjoyed a similar topic when reading Six of Crows and Crooked Kingdom.

 

Coming Up…

As we are now over halfway through the year, I want to take the opportunity to review my progress towards my reading goals for the year in a mid-year review post. I tend to do this post every year as it helps me understand where I’m at in relation to my goals, what I need to do to continue to make progress with them, and/or add or change them accordingly. With this in mind, I’m planning to make this my first post which will go live on Tuesday or Wednesday next week.

Later in the week, I’ll resume my Friday feature schedule with a Shelf Control post. This week’s featured book is a standalone novel by an author I have read several books by. The books I’ve been reading so far are all part of the same series. I purchased a paperback copy of this book years ago after reading the first few of the series and really enjoying it. I’m sure I’ve also featured this book in the First Lines Friday post, and I enjoyed the introduction immensely! I hope I’ll be getting to it before too long…

On Saturday, I will be sharing my review of Death at the Caravan Park as part of the upcoming blog tour. Naturally, I’ll be prioritising finishing this book in the week so I’m ready to share my thoughts with you this weekend. I hope you can join me for that post!

Then, to conclude the week, I’ll be back with another Sunday Summary update. You know me and what to expect by now! If I have as much reading progress to share with you next week, I will be very happy (and confidence that I’ve got an over the small slump I had at the end of last month).

 

That’s all from me in today’s Sunday Summary update post.

What are you reading currently? Have you purchased or borrowed any books from your local library lately?

 

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Monthly TBR – July 2023

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Happy Friday and welcome to my monthly TBR post for July!

We’re now over half way through the year and I’ve already made some great reading progress towards my goal of 50 books (15 of which non-fiction, as well as completing series). I’m going to share a mid-year review post soon, but for now, let’s share how I plan to kick off the beginning of the second half of the year!

 

Fixed Reads

I’m starting off this month’s fixed reading list with a few books I need to read for blog tour obligations. Whilst I’m not strictly touring for all of the books, I do need to catch up with one as it’s a second instalment of the series in order to be able to read the third book – which is for a blog tour!

In addition, I am also reading the book club pick over at Ezeekat’s book club this month.

 

Death at the Caravan Park – Susan Willis

The first book I am touring for this month is Death at the Caravan Park by Susan Willis. That blog tour post will be coming to you in just over a week. Naturally, I’ve already made a start with this book and as of drafting this post, I am a third of the way through it.

So far, Death at the Caravan Park is proving a relatively easy read. We have a good set up of characters and we now understand the baseline for the story. I’m interested to see how it progresses.

If you are interested and want to check out my thoughts on this book, I’ll be publishing my review on the 15th of July.

 

Storm of War – Peter Gibbons

This next book I’m picking up isn’t strictly for a blog tour. Rather, I need to read it in order to get up-to-date with the series before starting the third book. I will be providing a review as part of the upcoming blog tour for that book early next month.

I must have inadvertently missed reading this second book in the series when it went on tour itself. Fortunately, I’ve been able to download a copy via Kindle Unlimited, so I can read it before picking up the third book in the series.

I read and enjoyed the first book, Warrior and Protector, towards the end of last year; if you want to find out about that book, here is a link to my review.

 

Brothers of the Sword – Peter Gibbons

As I mentioned above, I will be taking part in the blog tour for Brothers of the Sword, but not until early next month.

That gives me a bit of leeway to read this instalment. And, it’s so happens, I also need the time to read the second book first!

There’s not really much more to say in this monthly TBR post, other than letting you know that my review date for Brothers of the Sword is 4th August.

 

To Shape A Dragon’s Breath – Moniquill Blackgoose

To Shape a Dragon’s Breath is the book club selection over at Ezeekat’s book club on Fable. I didn’t read last month’s pick, so I definitely want to try and make the effort to read this one.

I am intrigued by the synopsis of this book. And, who doesn’t love a fantasy that contains dragons?! I also like the idea of having minority representation in this book. I am under no illusion that the English have, shall we say, put their stamp on the world in the past. The events of this book heavily imply conflict between culture of indigenous people and the “Anglish”. I’m interested to see how this fantasy take on modern events plays out.

 

Mood Reads

 

I already have a number of fixed read on this monthly TBR, but I’m still hoping to pick up some mood reads this month as well.

 

A Brief History of Time – Stephen Hawking

Something I am looking forward to, and equally expect to challenge me this month, is reading A Brief History of Time by Stephen Hawking. It is a book that I have wanted to get to for quite some time. As a non-fiction, it also goes towards my goal of reading more non-fiction throughout 2023.

Having read around about this book, I suspect it could get quite mathematical and/or scientific. If it is, I’ll hold my hands up and admit that’s not an element I’m going to get too invested in. I get no desire out of understanding the maths behind this sort of stuff. But, that’s not to say I’m not interested in the science or the history of our world as we know it.

At just over 250 pages, I’m not sure how this book is going to play out. It could be quite a quick read if I don’t get too invested or bogged down in the science. Equally, as it’s out of my comfort zone, it could take me longer to read. Only time will tell.

 

Eleanor Oliphant is Completely Fine – Gail Honeyman

Last month, I picked another book out of my TBR jar. For those of you uninitiated, I have a jar I have on my bookshelf that’s full of titles I have not yet read. In order to add some randomisation to my reading, I try and pull one out to read every month. Last month, I’ve pulled out Eleanor Oliphant is Completely Fine.

After borrowing a copy from the library just this afternoon, I started this book at lunch. I’m only a couple of chapters in so far, but it’s made a decent impression already. I’m not really sure where the narrative is going to go, but I’m along for the ride to find out.

 

Cytonic – Brandon Sanderson

When going to the library, I also wanted to have a browse for a second book to borrow. I deliberately didn’t set myself a particular book to take out as my second loan. I wanted to see what caught my eye when I got there.

Whilst looking for a book to pick up, I found that my library had a copy of Cytonic by Brandon Sanderson. This is the last instalment of a YA sci-fi series I want to finish, so I thought this would be perfect to take out and read. Not only do I get to pick up a fantastic book again, but once I’ve read it, I get to tick that series off my list as complete. That’s another goal I’ve set myself for this year!

 

Stretch Goal

 

Ship of Destiny – Robin Hobb

On the off-chance that I manage to get through all of the reading list I’ve set myself for July, I would like to start Ship of Destiny by Robin Hobb. You may recall that Ship of Destiny was on my June TBR. However, I didn’t get around to reading it, given my experience and some difficulty with one of my books last month.

At 903 pages, there is absolutely no way on this earth that I’m going to finish it in July. However, if I could even make a start on it, I’ll consider that a win!

 

So, those the books on my monthly TBR that I’m going to be picking up very, very soon! Have you read any of the books on this monthly TBR post?

 

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Monthly Wrap-Up – June 2023

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Hello friends and welcome to today’s monthly wrap-up post for June! Overall, it has been a very good month of reading. All the books I completed were five star reads. One blip I had in the month resulted in a book going on hold. It’s not so much that there is anything wrong with the book. However, I just found that trying to read it when I did wasn’t the right time. I’ll explain more about that later.

In my June TBR, I set myself an ambitious goal. I didn’t get around to one of the books at all, but that’s okay. It will still be waiting for me whenever I am ready to pick it up!

Shall we dive into this monthly wrap-up and take a look at what I read in the month of June?

 

Books Read

 

A Clash of Kings

I started off with a re-read of a favourite book. As I mentioned in a few other posts on my blog this year, there are rumblings about the next book in George R.R. Martin’s A Song of Ice and Fire series, (a.k.a. Game of Thrones), coming out in the near future. With that in mind, I wanted to start a re-read of the series this year, so I can pick this next instalment up whenever it comes out.

I really enjoyed going back to this second book in the series. Whilst I’ve read the first book more times than I have continued with the series, that’s not to say that they are any less good. I ended up making progress through this book in a variety of different ways. I predominantly read this book using my paperback copy, however, there were occasions where I dipped into my kindle version, and also the audiobook copy I have.

It’s rare that I will read a book like this. However, given the size of the book, and the effective time constraint I had set myself to read it (so I could get to the rest of my books in June), this ended up being a good way of helping me progress at times when I couldn’t physically pick the book up.

 

The Lost Metal

The next book I picked up in the month was the final instalment in the Mistborn second era, The Lost Metal. This book came out in November last year. Being a reasonably recent publication, getting copies of this book isn’t exactly the cheapest right now. Fortunately for me, my library had a copy. So, I decided to borrow this one.

Reading and finishing this book was a bittersweet experience. I absolutely love the book, the storyline, and all the characters we’ve come to know and love over this four-part series. The ending was great, even though it made me very mad. No spoilers, but the ending was incredibly clever, high-stakes and heartbreaking! Me being me, I ended up finishing this book quite late on one night as I couldn’t possibly put it down with just 50 pages left. It took me a long time to get to sleep that night as I couldn’t stop thinking about it!

I really hope Brandon Sanderson comes back to this series and writes a third era. Personally, I loved how he built upon his already established world. He created the brilliant first era trilogy, and then advanced upon it for the second era. If he can do the same thing again, then I’m excited to see what he comes up with.

 

The Midnight Library

Next, I decided to pick up a relatively short read. At just under 300 pages, this has to be one of the shortest books I’ve picked up in the year so far. It was no less impactful despite its size. The Midnight Library is a book that puts a strong lens on mental health and gives us readers a chance to explore what it might be like to feel as if you have nothing left to live for.

I would definitely recommend it to anybody to read at some point in their lifetime. Through this short narrative, we explore ideas of what it would be like to live different lives. How would our lives be different if we made a different decision at a given time? I went into this book knowing this was the concept and with some ideas of themes the book would explore. In reality, it ends up doing a lot more than that. When I purchased my copy of this book, the bookseller told me that it had changed his outlook on life. I would also agree.

Although the narrative follows of one character and her vast exploration of alternative lives she could have lived, and what she learns about herself in the process, I found myself thinking about myself in that same way. In a way, this book taught me about my fundamental beliefs. It taught me what was important to me, the things I would never change about myself, even if I had the chance. It taught me that I should, and can, appreciate even the smallest things… because they can make all the difference.

This was the first time I had ever read a book written by Matt Haig, and it definitely won’t be the last!

 

The House in the Cerulean Sea

The last book I picked up in the month was The House in the Cerulean Sea by T.J. Klune. Much like The Midnight Library, the author of this book was a new one to me. It is an author I had also heard great things about, so I went into the book wondering if I could live up to the hype. It definitely did!

I had initially started this book after recognising that Children of Dune wasn’t really working for me. I ended up starting the first couple of chapters, and then putting it down to try and push through Children of Dune, before ultimately coming back to it.  Whereas that book wasn’t working for me because it is a very serious, political science-fiction narrative, The House in the Cerulean Sea is quite the opposite. It is lighthearted and fantastical.

In this narrative, we experience the life of Linus Baker, a caseworker who was sent on a special assignment to a classified orphanage way outside of his normal life. The orphanage is classified because it is home to potentially dangerous magical children… and one of the residents in particular makes the governing body nervous.

The House in the Cerulean Sea is really a heartwarming read. It also ended up being an apt book to pick up in June (albeit I finished the book in July), as it contains a number of queer characters. I really enjoyed the relationships that built up throughout the narrative. Although that’s not something I actively seek out in a book, it ended up working really well in this narrative. It wasn’t forced or shoehorned in for the sake of inclusion. Rather, it felt very natural.

Based on my experience of this book, I will definitely be reading more of T.J. Klune.

 

DNF / Hold

Children of Dune

As I briefly mentioned above, I attempted to pick up and read Children of Dune this month. In the end, I only made it to around 150 pages before I decided that this particular read isn’t working for me right now.

The Dune series is a very serious and dense political science-fiction. It’s not the type of book that I can or will pick up every day. Whilst I have enjoyed the series so far, and to an extent, I did still enjoy what I read this month, I just didn’t have the mental stamina for it. The 150 pages I did read was done over the course of a week. As far as my reading speed goes, that’s terrible! I was also finding that I wanted to read, but I wasn’t reading very much of this book at a time (and that’s if I did my persuade myself to pick it up – there are plenty of times I distracted myself with other things deliberately).

In the end, I decided to own up to the fact that it wasn’t working, and I have put this book on hold for now.

 

Summary

I may not have gotten to all the books I intended to pick up in June, and although I have one book that I put on hold, I’ve had a good reading month otherwise. It’s rare to have read so many books that have been so highly rated and made such a profound effect on me. I’ve also discovered two new authors this month that I want to read more from in the future!

So, here concludes my monthly wrap-up post for June 2023! Have you read any of the books I picked up in the month of June? Are any of them on your reading list?

Check in on my blog later this week, as I will be sharing the books I intend to pick up throughout July. I hope you can join me for that!

 

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Sunday Summary – 2nd July 2023

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Good evening folks and welcome to this week’s update post – aka my Sunday Summary!

I kicked off this week’s blogging schedule with a review of Lean In by Sheryl Sandberg. If you are unfamiliar with the book, it is a non-fiction self help about women in the workplace, and why we need more women to have senior roles. The book is full of good personal advice for women to take on board for themselves. However, it also doesn’t shy away from the fact that there are external factors that can hinder a woman’s career… and goes someway to addressing how we can get around that.

Later in the week, I published the next instalment of my Well, I Didn’t Know That! series. In at post, I took the opportunity to explore some of the content available under the Kindle Unlimited subscription.

 

Books Read

 

Children of Dune

I’ve not had a very good week in terms of reading, if I’m completely honest. As I mentioned below, I have struggled with one of the reads I have been picking up (and putting down). But, it’s also fair to say that I have been doing more extracurricular things than usual this week. On Tuesday night, for example, I baked no less than three cakes for a coffee morning we were having a work the following day. I was also out for tea on Thursday with friends.

I didn’t get off to the best of starts with this book last week, as I struggled to get into it. There was one good evening in which I found my way and made some progress into this book last week – as of my last Sunday Summary, I was about 100 pages in.

As of this week’s post, I have only managed to read a further 50 pages, despite picking up this book several times throughout the week. I’ve just not been in the mood for it. There’s nothing wrong with the book. It’s quite a dense and hard science fiction plot, with a lot of politics thrown in for good measure. I have enjoyed the previous two books of the series, but I think it’s one you have to be in the mood for to get on with it.

I can’t really say I’ve been that this week.

 

The House in the Cerulean Sea

After picking up and putting down Children of Dune several times, and coming to the realisation that it wasn’t working for me, I then resumed my read of The House in the Cerulean Sea.

I only really decided to make the switch towards the end of the week, so I’ve only picked this up a couple of times. Even so, I have read about a third of the book in those two sittings. It’s not the most progress in the world, but it’s more than I’ve made with Children of Dune all week. I’ll take it!

Given that I’ve been struggling with Children of Dune, I have made the decision to put this down for now and come back to it later. Therefore, The House in the Cerulean Sea is my main current read and it’s the book I will be taking to bed with me tonight.

 

Books Discovered

It has to be a record, but once again, no news is good news!

 

Coming Up…

Next week, I will be putting my usual blogging schedule on pause as I will be taking the time to publish my monthly wrap-up for the month of June, and also to set out my planned TBR for July!

At the end of the week, I’ll be back with another Sunday Summary post to give you the details of my reading progress in the week. I sincerely hope I have more to report that I have in this post!

What have you been reading?

 

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Well, I Didn’t Know That! #12

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I’m excited to explore today’s Well, I Didn’t Know That! feature. I recently subscribed to Kindle Unlimited for the very first time. Naturally, I wanted to take the time to explore the content available on the site… and I thought it would be a perfect feature to share in this post.

If you are not a subscriber, then you may be unaware of what Kindle Unlimited gives you access to. Today’s Well, I Didn’t Know That! post is about correcting that!

https://www.amazon.com/Browse-Kindle-Unlimited-Books/

Access to Books

Kindle Unlimited is a bit like a digital library. Whilst you can borrow more books at a time than a traditional library would lend you, there is still a limit as to how many books you can borrow at a time. But, there is also the obvious fact that you are borrowing the books. This means these books won’t be in your library indefinitely. On the upside, if you read a lot of books in a month, paying the monthly subscription could save you money compared to buying the books outright!

Another perk of Kindle Unlimited is that readers can access some exclusive books to the service. Some authors have signed up with Amazon to publish exclusively with them. As a result, you won’t find their books anywhere else.

There are some big titles included in Kindle Unlimited. From the Harry Potter series, to J. R.R. Tolkien’s The Hobbit and Lord of the Rings, there are some popular books available. If you are a fan of Colleen Hoover, you are also in luck.

As a sidenote, I’ve always had a bit of a gripe with Amazon’s bias towards advertising and recommending me romance books. It can only be because I’m female. The site literally has access to my reading and purchase history. There are very few books that fall anywhere near the romance category. And yet, they keep recommending them. Before I paid to remove the advertisements on the lock screen, I always got ads for romance books with half-naked men on the cover. Books I have never bought before, nor frankly will I! 

Anyway, I digress…

 

Magazines

Access to magazines recently moved over to Kindle Unlimited when Amazon chose to wind down subscriptions from their Newsstand.

As a baseline for comparison, I was previously a subscriber of a magazine/newspaper service called Readly. That service had very good coverage of magazines. From big titles to some very niche publications (I found a magazine on the site dedicated to Minecraft, which I featured earlier on in this series). Comparing Kindle Unlimited to that offering, I would say it is reasonable. All the big titles that I would actively look for on Readly are also available on Kindle Unlimited. It probably won’t surprise you to learn that some of the niche titles are not available. However, I would say for the average reader, you are going to find the content you’re looking for.

Categories of content include lifestyle, celebrity, hobbies, sport, nature and science, and even a little bit of news and political. Magazines that I was looking for that are available range from The Knitter to The Writing Magazine, BBC History, National Geographic and BBC Science Focus.

In broad terms, if you like to read popular titles, then you’re covered!

 

Newspapers

If you are looking for access to newspaper subscriptions, then I would suggest looking elsewhere. As I mentioned above, I recently made the switch to Kindle Unlimited from a subscription service called Readly. That particular subscription is dedicated to both magazines and newspapers. It has quite a good selection of the daily newspapers.

I have only been able to find an entry for The Evening Standard newspaper in Kindle Unlimited. Whilst the Newsstand FAQ indicated that limited titles would be available under KU, I didn’t really expect it to be that limited! I didn’t trawl through all the listings, as there were over 200 of them. However, I probably went through about 100. 

As it happens, I’m not a newspaper reader anyway. It’s not something I’ve ever done with any regularity, and frankly, the news is just depressing! I even try to avoid watching the news nowadays. 

 

 

So, there is my overview of what is available through a Kindle Unlimited subscription in today’s Well, I Didn’t Know That! post.

Are you a subscriber? What benefits do you enjoy from the service? Let me know in the comments!

 

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Book Review: Lean In – Sheryl Sandberg

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In today’s post, I have the pleasure of sharing my thoughts on a non-fiction book that I really enjoyed last year. My sister was given a copy of the book to read as a recommendation from one of her work colleagues. This in turn was recommended to me by her.

Lean In made for an interesting read, as it offers a very personal experience of leadership as a woman who, unfortunately, remained in the minority throughout several companies she worked at. The book goes a long way to advocate why more women need to be in senior roles.

 

Lean In – Sheryl Sandberg

Genre: Non-fiction/Self Help

Audience: Adult

Publisher: Knopf

Publication Date: 12 Mar 2013

Rating: 🌟🌟🌟🌟🌟

 

 

Goodreads – Lean In

Sheryl Sandberg’s Lean In is a massive cultural phenomenon and its title has become an instant catchphrase for empowering women. The book soared to the top of bestseller lists internationally, igniting global conversations about women and ambition. Sandberg packed theatres, dominated opinion pages, appeared on every major television show and on the cover of Time magazine, and sparked ferocious debate about women and leadership. Ask most women whether they have the right to equality at work and the answer will be a resounding yes, but ask the same women whether they’d feel confident asking for a raise, a promotion, or equal pay, and some reticence creeps in. The statistics, although an improvement on previous decades, are certainly not in women’s favour – of 197 heads of state, only twenty-two are women. Women hold just 20 percent of seats in parliaments globally, and in the world of big business, a meagre eighteen of the Fortune 500 CEOs are women. In Lean In, Sheryl Sandberg – Facebook COO and one of Fortune magazine’s Most Powerful Women in Business – draws on her own experience of working in some of the world’s most successful businesses and looks at what women can do to help themselves, and make the small changes in their life that can effect change on a more universal scale.

 

My Thoughts

Whilst Lean In is written by a woman and predominantly for women, I would argue that there is a basis for anybody to pick up this book. A lot of the advice is about what women can do in order to advocate for themselves. However, one big dependency of that is women working in an environment where that attitude is fostered and actively encouraged. The current bias of men in senior roles means it is a change that has to be supported by men.

Through Sheryl’s own experience, the book highlights examples of women’s health that ought to be considered when they wouldn’t necessarily come to the fore otherwise. As an example, Sheryl openly admits in the book that she only considered a need for accessible parking for pregnant women at the time when she needed it herself. Without a senior woman to represent such issues, it’s unlikely that women will see similar benefits in the workplace.

  • There is some criticism for this book in that the advice is offered by a woman from a privileged and wealthy background. Sheryl doesn’t shy away from this in my opinion. Rather, her circumstances highlight the disparity in opportunities based on wealth (in terms of money and resources). Women shouldn’t be held back from returning to work by childcare fees, but more often than not, they are.

The important message of this book is about personal growth and development. Whilst there are some wider issues broached in the book, the point is that these can be tackled by individuals collectively working towards a more equal and fair society. There are distinct differences between men and women. Some examples are how ‘qualified’ individuals need to feel before applying for a job, or varied feelings of imposter syndrome. This isn’t a fault of men or women, but recognising these differences can help us to understand how disparities in roles originated, and what we can do to equalise them.

I have learned a good deal from reading Lean In… about work, but also about myself.

Have you read Lean In? Is this on your list to pick up sometime?

 

 

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Sunday Summary – 25th June 2023

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Happy Sunday friends – you know what time it is… I’m back with another Sunday Summary update!

I started off this week by sharing a Top Ten Tuesday post. The topic of that post was my top ten reads making up my Summer TBR. The list has a wide range of books and genres on it. They are the books I really want to prioritise reading over the next few months, and I can’t wait to get to each and every one.

Later in the week, it was time to share my next Friday feature with you. This week’s post was a First Lines Friday. I decided to set myself a challenge to feature the introduction to one of the books that made it onto Tuesday’s Summer TBR. You’ll be able to guess the book from the introduction, as it gives it away entirely!

 

Books Read

 

The Lost Metal

I left off last week’s Sunday Summary update with around 100 pages left to complete The Lost Metal by Brandon Sanderson. I kind of knew that I was going to push through and finish that book last Sunday. By the time I taken the book to bed to read some, I would then be so close to the end that I just wanted to power through and finish it. That’s exactly what I did! I can tell you now that I simultaneously loved the book, but it also made me very mad. If you know, you know.

I’m glad that I have read and finally finished the book. Although I will admit to being a little bit sad that second era Mistborn is now done. I really loved the characters in this series and how the world was developed to build upon the first era. I can only hope that a third era follows in future, and that we can expect even bigger and better things.

 

The Midnight Library

Moving on from The Lost Metal, I then decided to pick up a quick read, The Midnight Library by Matt Haig.

Having heard a lot of great things about Matt Haig and several of the books he has written and published, I went into this book with high hopes. I’m always wary of hyped books or authors, because it’s so easy to be disappointed. That is not the case with Matt Haig and The Midnight Library. When I bought my copy of this book, the seller in Waterstones told me that it was a book that changed his outlook on life completely. And I can see why. For such a small book, it has a big message to get readers to think about.

The book explores mental health and the impact events can have on our outlook. At a point where Nora is fed up of her current life, she decides to end it. However, in between life and death, she finds herself in an infinite library. A prominent character from her past reappears and gives Nora other chances at life – each encapsulated in a book. At every point where a decision was made, a new life branches off into infinite possibilities. And Nora tries plenty of them!

Ultimately, Nora comes to learn a lot about who she is and what she values. I really enjoyed the book and its message.

 

Children of Dune

Next, I started Children of Dune by Frank Herbert, and as of this Sunday Summary post, this is my main current read.

The Dune series by Frank Herbert is dense science-fiction, and it’s quite political as well. Initially I struggled to get back into this book. However, I think that’s because I tried to start it quite late one evening when I was tired. So, I didn’t quite get off to the best of starts with it. I ended up picking up another book very briefly that night in order to explore that one instead. More on that below.

I went back to Children of Dune the following day and found reading much easier. I’m definitely back into the narrative now that I really given myself the opportunity to do so. As of this Sunday Summary post, I am just over 100 pages into the book.

 

The House in the Cerulean Sea

I briefly dipped my toes into The House in the Cerulean Sea by T.J. Klune. This book is one that has been on my reading list for a little while, and I pulled it out of my TBR jar to read in June.

For now, I’ve only made the briefest of introductions to the book. As I mentioned above, I started it as a trial when considering whether or not to put Children of Dune aside. As it happens, I am continuing with that book as my main read. However, first impressions of The House in the Cerulean Sea are very good.

I like the set up so far. It also proved easy enough to read whilst I was tired! I may end up reading this in tandem with Children of Dune, depending on my reading moods and/or abilities.

 

Books Discovered

With a few reads ticked off my TBR this week, in combination with no new books added, I can say that the reading list is going in the right direction!

For now…

 

Coming Up…

Next week, I want to share another book review with you. Having taken a look at my list of books pending review, I have decided to review Lean In by Sheryl Sandberg. Whilst this is definitely a book about women and for women in the workplace, I would recommend it to anybody. You can find out exactly why in my review next week!

Later on in the week, I will be sharing another instalment of my series, Well, I Didn’t Know That! Up until recently, I had been using an app called Readly in order to access magazines from different providers for a monthly subscription fee. It was only when I discovered that I could access a similar range using Kindle Unlimited, for a fractionally smaller price, that I decided to make the switch.

In addition to magazines, I can also access books through Kindle Unlimited. Overall, I think it will be a better deal accessing both via this platform. However, I am going to explore some of the content available through Kindle Unlimited with you to make my decision. That way, if you don’t already subscribe, you can find out what kind of magazines are out there… And I’ve got a good reason to explore the range for myself!

Next Sunday, I will be back with another Sunday Summary update post. I’m hoping to have plenty of reading progress to share with you, and I’ll be sharing how I’ll be gearing up for a busy blogging week.

That’s all for today’s Sunday Summary update. What have you read recently?

 

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First Lines Friday – 23/06/2023

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Welcome to this week’s Friday feature – a First Lines Friday post! I suspect you are going to guess the book that made it to today’s feature.

I set myself a challenge with this post last Sunday. As I wanted to do a topical theme, I decided to feature one of the books that made it to my Summer TBR list. I shared that post on Tuesday. If you want to go and take a look at that before we get into today’s introduction, you can find a link above.

You may well be able to guess today’s book based on the introduction, as it gives the answer away. The book in question is a well-known one, so I would be surprised if anyone hasn’t heard of it before.

 

Having been born a freeman, and for more than thirty years enjoyed the blessings of liberty in a free State – and having at the end of that time been kidnapped and sold into Slavery, where I remained, until happily rescued in the month of January, 1853, after a bondage of twelve years – it has been suggested that an account of my life and fortunes would not be uninteresting to the public.

Since my return to liberty, I have not failed to perceive the increasing interest throughout the Northern States, in regard to the subject of Slavery. Works of fiction, professing to portray its features in their more pleasing, as well as more repugnant aspects, have been circulated to an extent unprecedented, and, as I understand, have created a fruitful topic of comment and discussion.

 

 

 

 

Twelve Years A Slave – Solomon Northup

Genre: Non-fiction/Memoir

Pages: 363

Audience: Adult

Publisher:

Publication Date: 05 Feb 1853

 

 

Goodreads – Twelve Years A Slave

Twelve Years a Slave, sub-title: Narrative of Solomon Northup, citizen of New-York, kidnapped in Washington city in 1841, and rescued in 1853, from a cotton plantation near the Red River in Louisiana, is a memoir by Solomon Northup as told to and edited by David Wilson. It is a slave narrative of a black man who was born free in New York state but kidnapped in Washington, D.C., sold into slavery, and kept in bondage for 12 years in Louisiana. He provided details of slave markets in Washington, D.C. and New Orleans, as well as describing at length cotton and sugar cultivation on major plantations in Louisiana.

 

My Thoughts…

I’ve wanted to pick up Twelve Years A Slave for a number of years, and I am finally making it a priority.

It is one of the oldest books on my reading list in terms of original publication date. As you probably gathered by the introduction, this reflects a lot in the language used in the narrative. It doesn’t necessarily flow in the same way you or I are used to. However, I find that really interesting.

It’s rare to find a memoir of such a harrowing personal experience, so this book has plenty to offer. This part of American history is often glossed over. I’m a firm believer that we need to acknowledge and remember these unpleasant parts of history. That way, we make sure they do not happen again.

Twelve Years A Slave is a classic novel that I intend to pick up very soon, and I’m optimistic that I will enjoy it!

 

I hope you’ve enjoyed today’s First Lines Friday post!

Have you read Twelve Years A Slave?

 

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Top Ten Tuesday – 2023 Summer TBR

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In today’s Top Ten Tuesday post, I will share the books that I’ll be looking to read over the summer months.

I shared a similar post for my Spring reads, with mixed results. I read six of the ten books I listed in that post. A couple of those I didn’t get to make a reappearance in today’s Top Ten Tuesday.

Personally, I find these posts really useful in planning my future reading. They keep me accountable. I also hope you enjoy them, as you learn what books and content will be coming up on my blog in the near future!

But, that’s enough ramble – I’m sure you want to dive into the list, so let’s get to it!

 

Summer TBR

 

Children of Dune

Children of Dune featured on my Spring TBR list. Whilst I haven’t gotten around to the book as of drafting this post, it is on my June TBR. After I’ve finished my current read (The Midnight Library by Matt Haig), I intend to pick up Children of Dune.

 

Ship of Destiny

Much like Children of Dune, Ship of Destiny is also on my June TBR. It’s also a carryover from my Spring TBR list… and was added to my June TBR because it was still outstanding.

Ship of Destiny is likely to be the last read on my June TBR, and I may end up reading it into July. It’s a hefty read at just over 900 pages. I didn’t shy away from chunky books in my Spring TBR; nothing has changed for this Top Ten Tuesday – Summer 2023 TBR.

 

A Brief History of Time

A Brief History of Time is a book I intend to pick up very, very soon. I recently featured this book on my 30 Before 30 list. If you haven’t checked out that post, it is a list of the books I would like to try and read before I turn 30.

Whilst this isn’t a very long book, it may be a challenge for me in how scientific and mathematical it is. I am not a big science nerd. But, I am interested in the subject and I would like to give it a go.

 

Wizard and Glass

The Waste Lands by Stephen King featured on my Spring TBR. One of my goals for the year is to continue reading ongoing series rather than starting new ones. It had been four years since I picked up this series last, and when I read The Waste Lands (in four days), I vowed I wouldn’t be making that mistake again!

With this in mind, the next book of The Dark Tower series, Wizard and Glass, has made it to my Summer TBR.

 

Twelve Years a Slave

Twelve Years A Slave is another book from my 30 Before 30 list that I would like to pick up during the summer. This book would make a great read in 2023 for a couple of reasons. Firstly, it helps me make a prompt start on my 30 Before 30 list. Secondly, as a non-fiction memoir, it also contributes towards my goal of reading more non-fiction throughout this year!

 

The Pagan Lord

The Pagan Lord is the seventh book in Bernard Cornwell‘s Saxon Stories series. This is a series that I have been reading for a number of years. I picked it up again earlier this year when I read Death of Kings. With that goal of continuing reading series in mind, I would like to resume this one. Whilst the series and characters are relatively fresh in my mind, it makes sense to pick up the next instalment.

 

Eleanor Oliphant is Completely Fine

Eleanor Oliphant Is Completely Fine is the outlier on this Summer TBR. However, I do have my reasons for adding it. The first of those is that I already pulled the book out of my TBR jar, and so I will be reading it next month. Secondly, as the book has an emphasis on mental health, and because I’m enjoying The Midnight Library so much, I want to continue exploring fiction with this topic.

 

Three Sisters

Three Sisters is the third book in Heather Morris’s The Tattooist of Auschwitz series. I have listened to the first two books of the series already, and finally listening to Three Sisters will give me a big ol’ tick on my completed series list. I don’t get many of those very often!

It’s been a little while since I last pick up the series, but the events and characters stand out so well that it doesn’t matter. The books don’t overly relate to each other either, so I’m not dependent on being so familiar with what’s already happened in the other books that I can’t pick this one up.

 

Children of Virtue and Vengeance

It’s been five years since I picked up the Legacy of Orisha series. Too long really, but it’s only going to get longer if I continue not to revisit it.

I really enjoyed the start of this series by Tomi Adeyemi back in 2018, and I’m overdue getting back into it. A secondary motive I have for picking this book up soon is that the author is due to publish a third book in the series in September. If I manage to pick up the second book before then, I will very briefly be caught up with the series until the sequel comes out. But, with events fresh in my mind, it would make sense for me to pick up the third book quickly and get caught up again.

 

A Storm of Swords

This year, I am re-reading George R.R. Martin’s A Song of Ice and Fire series (a.k.a. A Game of Thrones). With the understanding that the next book is due out soon, I want to refresh my memory before diving into this new instalment. You know me, I will be doing that as soon as it’s physically available!

 

So, those are the books that have made it onto my Top Ten Tuesday – 2023 Summer TBR post.

I hope you have enjoyed today’s Top Ten Tuesday post! Have you read any of the books on my list? Are there any that you intend to pick up as well?

 

 

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Sunday Summary – 18th June 2023

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Good evening all and welcome to this week’s Sunday Summary. It’s a special day here, as it is Father’s Day! Happy Father’s Day to all the wonderful dads out there. I’ve enjoyed spending the day with mine. I know I’m completely biased in saying that mine is the best, but he is! 

I’ve kept myself busy on the reading and blogging front of this week. I started off the week in sharing my review of a Netgalley ARC I downloaded a couple of months ago – Death Magnanimous by Michael Martin. The book is due to come out around the 1st of July. With that in mind, I wanted to set out my thoughts ahead of publication. Although this is a book that handles some difficult themes, I think it does so very well. I really enjoyed the subject matter (and I hope you do too).

On Friday, I shared a Shelf Control post and featured a book that will be coming up on my TBR shortly. This particular book also made it to my 30 Before 30 list which I shared recently. If you’re interested to find out which of those books I plan to pick up in the very near future, here is a link to this post so you can find out!

 

Books Read

 

A Clash of Kings

As of last week’s Sunday Summary update, I had just 66 pages remaining of A Clash of Kings by George R.R. Martin. After sharing last week’s post, my plan was to finish the book that night… And finish it I did!

These books are brilliant, and they are books I could go back to again and again and enjoy just as much each time. It goes without saying that I really enjoyed diving back into the series. This second instalment is quite hefty, but it doesn’t really feel like it when you read it. The chapter lengths and changes in perspective suit me really well. I had already read a lot of this book last week, and I was happy to finally finish it off ready for a clean slate on Monday.

 

The Lost Metal

The next book I picked up, and have been reading for the rest of the week, is The Lost Metal by Brandon Sanderson. I chose this book to read next as it is slightly shorter than A Clash of Kings, and I didn’t want to jump into another chunky read straight after this one. The Lost Metal is still around 500 pages, so it couldn’t be called short. However, compared to A Clash of Kings, The Lost Metal is proving to be an easier read.

It’s been a little while since I last picked up the series, but it hasn’t been difficult to jump right back into the action. I also really love the second era Mistborn characters. Wax and Wayne, and the westernised setting of the books, works really well for me. I know that it’s not well suited to others, but I really enjoy it. The characters themselves also have a great dynamic and I’m enjoying their perspectives once again. I’ll almost be a little bit sad once I finish this book, as this is the end of second era Mistborn.

As of this Sunday Summary update, I have read just over 400 out of 500 pages. I’m hoping to go to bed not too late tonight, because I know I want to make more progress. But once I’ve made some progress, I’ll be keenly aware of how very close I am to the end. I have a bad habit of not being able to leave books once I get that close to the finish. I don’t doubt I’ll be pushing myself over the finish line tonight!

 

Books Discovered

I’m continuing my good streak of not adding any new books to my reading list. I’ve said it more than once but I will say it again. This is not a bad thing! If you take one look at my reading list on Goodreads, you will know I need absolutely zero help with expanding my TBR!

 

Coming Up…

The first post I intend to share with you next week is a Top Ten Tuesday post! It’s been a little while since I shared one of these features, but I’ve been holding out for a topic I’m interested in. Earlier this year, I shared my top ten books on my spring reading list. This time, I will be drafting a similar post, but for my summer reads. Whilst the weather is still looking good into next week, ironically, we’ve probably had our peak summer already! That doesn’t really matter though, as I’m not the type of person to pick traditionally seasonal reads. Not only that, but if the weather turns back cold/rainy/unpleasant, then that’s all the more justification to sit in with a good book, right?

On Friday, I’ll be returning with the next regular Friday feature due to come up on my blog. That post is a First Lines Friday. I’m in the mood to set myself a challenge for this post. I’m not going to set an overly difficult one here. On the theme of summer reads, I am going to feature one of the books that makes it to my top 10 summer reading list which I’m sharing earlier in the week.

As always, I’ll be back at the same time next week with another Sunday Summary to share all my reading updates with you, and let you know what I plan to share in the coming week.

That’s all for now! Have a wonderful evening and week and I will catch you in the next post! Happy reading!

 

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