Tag: books

Sunday Summary – 14th January 2024

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In today’s Sunday Summary post I have plenty of updates to share with you. It has been a fantastic week of reading, and I can’t lie when I say I’ve enjoyed going back to a more relaxed blogging schedule. Yes, this week I was back to my regular three post schedule, and it’s been far more manageable.

The first of those posts was a book review of Leadership and Culture by John and Katie McCann. I read this book last year as a way of picking up another non-fiction, but also to work on some of my soft skills. This book would be great for either first-time managers, aspiring leaders, or even as a refresher for those more experienced. As always, I’ll provide a link in case you want to go back and check out that post.

On Friday, I returned with a Shelf Control post. If you are unfamiliar with this series, I use it to look at upcoming books on my reading list and share why I’m excited to read them. This week’s particular feature was another non-fiction book that is on my reading list, but about a completely different topic. It’s one that I am really interested in reading about even though it is not the most pleasant! If you want to find out what that was, there is a link above.

 

Books Read

My Sister’s Keeper

As of last week’s Sunday Summary post, I was 75% into this audio and hopeful that I was going to finish it soon.

I did indeed finish this audio on Thursday night, and oh my goodness, what an ending! I fully appreciate that some people don’t like the ending of this book. However, I really enjoyed it and I didn’t see it coming! It also made me cry my eyes out. It ended up being quiet in the office than usual on Friday, so no one noticed the puffy face. Then again, I do work with mostly men…

 

Betrothal and Betrayal

The second read I carried over from last week’s Sunday Summary was Betrothal and Betrayal. In that post, I shared that I’d read the first 20%, and it’s from there I picked up from.

I read Betrothal and Betrayal on my phone, which is something I don’t do very often. However, this is a review copy of the book and the deadline for reviewing it is coming up. Had I not been able to view the book on my phone I would have gone back to the organiser to see if I could get the matter fixed. As things stood, I could, and the book is only 250 pages long. I decided to work with what I had, and to be fair, it worked reasonably well.

As I’ve already mentioned, the review for this is coming up – as imminently as next week. I’m not going to go too much in detail as to my thoughts at this time. Overall it was a fun, short historical fantasy book in which we get to explore the life of a fiery female protagonist set an interesting setting – Constantinople and the Byzantine empire.

 

Crime and Punishment

I picked up Crime and Punishment for the first time after finishing Betrothal and Betrayal. I suspected this would be the book my reading pace slowed down with, and that is the case.

In order to read all of the 10 books I have on my January TBR, I need to read about 100 pages a day over the course of the month. Since Thursday, I’ve only read the first 132 pages of this classic. In fairness, I haven’t picked up read at all today, and I will be making some progress with the book tonight once this post goes live.

I already expected that the writing style of Crime and Punishment would make 100 pages a day a stretch. When you take into account the book was published in the late 1800s, by a Russian author and then translated, it doesn’t quite flow the same as modern language. This isn’t to say I’m not getting on with it, because I am. However, to get my hundred pages a day, I’m definitely going to have to read a couple of books in tandem. More on that later. As of this post,Crime and Punishment is my main read and my focus going into next week. If I can read 50 pages of this book a day, in tandem with 50 pages of another, I’ll be on track.

 

Sword of Vengeance

To help with keep up my reading pace and give me a change, I’m going to read Sword of Vengeance in tandem with Crime and Punishment. It so happens that I started the book yesterday whilst at my hairdressers anyway. I am reading Crime and Punishment in paperback form, but it wasn’t worth taking with me to the appointment. I was able to read the first chapter of Sword of Vengeance on my phone.

Sword of Vengeance is the fourth book of the Saxon Warrior series. I’ve kept up to date with it and so there isn’t too much in the way of investment to pick up and follow the action. I’ve already done the legwork and know what’s going on. It’s a completely different writing style, but it’s one that I find very easy to read. I’ll be using this book to switch to when I need a break and/or to try and make up page count in my daily reading.

I confess that, as of this Sunday Summary, I have only read the first chapter, or 5%. I’m looking forward to picking up more of the book next week. 

 

Unmasked

The last book I need to update you on this week is Unmasked.

I started this audiobook after finishing My Sister’s Keeper. It’s not an overly long one, so I’ve already made good progress. As of this Sunday Summary, I’ve listened to about 30%.

The book is about the author, Ellie Middleton, and her late diagnoses of ADHD and autism. Whilst the book’s aim is to go some way to educate readers about the conditions generally, it is particularly about her experience and how women and ethnic minorities are less likely to be diagnosed at an early age.

I’m enjoying the audio even more as it is narrated by the author herself. I don’t think it would’ve felt right being narrated by a third-party given that this is about her individual experience. I’m looking forward to listening to more in the coming days!

 

Books Discovered

It had been a little while since I’ve had a look on my library’s digital offerings. I confess I was originally looking to see if I can borrow one of my upcoming reads later in the month. No such luck. However, I did find an e-book written by author I enjoyed in 2020 with an interesting premise.

The Sentence sounds like an intriguing legal thriller. I’ve tried multiple drafts to sum up the story without really doing it justice (no pun intended). So, here is the synopsis instead:

A law intended to end capital punishment.

Prosecutors who seek the death penalty put their lives on the line if the guilty are later found innocent.

A lawyer convinced beyond reasonable doubt.

Justine Boucher is presented with overwhelming evidence in a brutal murder case. Her request for execution is granted.

But what if she’s wrong?

Coming Up…

I have two reviews due next week. With this in mind, these will be my priority posts in the week.

In order to space out these reviews, I will be reviewing the second book first. I appreciate that sounds contrary, but allow me to explain. This second book is due to publish on the 19th of January, but I haven’t necessarily committed to provide my review on that date. Instead, I look to have it prepared a few days in advance, so it is out in the world (and on Netgalley) by publication day. With this in mind, I look to share that review on Tuesday.

The other book I will be reviewing this week is one where I have agreed to do it on a set date, and that is Thursday. I’m taking part in a blog tour for Betrothal and Betrayal, organised by TheWriteReads. I’m looking forward to sharing my thoughts on this book as I really enjoyed the action and setting. Stay tuned and you will find my thoughts, both on my blog and across my social media accounts on Thursday 18th.

Lastly, I’ll be back with another Sunday Summary update next week. Given the nature of the posts I am sharing this week, I’m not doing a Friday feature as well. Reviews take a lot of time to get right and I want to make sure I do both justice. As well, I’ve not long ago had a busy week of blogging during a busy period at work. I’m sticking to the three day schedule and I’m unapologetic about it!

For now, that’s all from me in today’s post. Have you read any of the books I talk about in this post? What are you reading right now?

 

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Sunday Summary – 7th January 2024

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Good evening friends and welcome to this Sunday Summary update. This post is the fifth I have drafted and published this week. It’s not very often I have such a busy schedule. However, with the end of the year, I’ve had a lot of content to push out in a short window. I’ve shared about 7,100 words with you in the last week, when you include this post as well! 

The first blog post I shared was my monthly wrap-up for December 2023. In summary, reading progress slowed down a little bit in December, given I’d already met my reading goal and because of the festive period. If you’re interested to see what I read in the final month of the year, you can check out that post here.

The next post was my wrap-up for the whole of 2023. In this post, I took a look at the goals I set myself at the beginning of the year to see if I managed to complete them.

After a day’s break, I shared my 2024 Reading Resolutions on Thursday. Some of the resolutions I have set myself this year are very similar to ones I set last year. But, there is one brand-new goal for 2024. If you want to find out what I’m setting out to do this year, you know what to do.

Lastly, I shared my January TBR on Friday. I may have set myself a reading goal that equates to 5 books a month, but I am very excited for the New Year and new reading opportunities. As a result, I maybe have been ambitious with my reading goal for the first month. I feature no less than 10 books on this reading list… yeah, that’s where we’re at!

No pressure…

 

Books Read

 

My Sister’s Keeper

Leaving off from last week’s Sunday Summary update, I picked up My Sister’s Keeper having already made progress with about a third of the audiobook.

I’ve raced ahead this week and I am now just over 3/4 of the way through. This book is everything I hoped it would be in terms of dealing with the morality and ethical aspects of the underlying story. Even better for me, I am just getting to the point where Anna gets her hearing in court. We get to dive into the detail of the family dynamics as well as the ethics of the story. How is it likely to end? I have no idea at this point. That makes me all the more keen to keep listening!

I’m looking forward to making further progress in this audiobook next week. If I’m any judge, I think I could get it done next week. We’re at the interesting bit and there’s only a few hours left to listen!

 

Gemina

Gemina is the second book I carried over from last week’s Sunday Summary post. In my last update, I had read just over 200 pages with a further 450-odd to go.

I raced through those 450 pages within the first few days of January! I’m not surprised, as I knew what to expect from my enjoyment of the first book in the series, Illuminae. The character perspectives are fun to read and the format of the book (mixed media) makes it very easy to pick up. Now and then it’s nice to break away from books written in traditional prose.

Gemina was a great book to pick up both to end 2023 on, but also to start 2024 with. It was my first read of the year, and also my first five star read at that!

 

The Girl in Seat 2A

The next day, I started the book I picked up and read in full this week, The Girl in Seat 2A.

The book is a thriller written by Diana Wilkinson and is due to be published on the 19th January. As a reviewer and follower of Boldwood books, I was very lucky to be accepted for an advanced reader copy to share my thoughts with you ahead of publication.

You can expect those thoughts in full coming up on the blog very soon. However, to give you a flavour of the book now, it is a thriller about a young woman living the lifestyle of a millionairess. But, not all is as it seems. When she meets and starts to date a wealthy man whilst on holiday in Marbella, things take a turn for the worse.

Overall, the book was a four-star read. I wasn’t a huge fan of the main character, just because we are opposing personality types. But, that didn’t detract from my overall enjoyment of the book. It is also told from another perspective which I liked far more. I’m looking forward to more detail in the near future!

 

Betrothal and Betrayal

I picked up one final book this week, and as of this Sunday Summary post, Betrothal and Betrayal is my current read.

Betrothal and Betrayal is another book that I am reviewing for a tour coming up very soon. I’m having to read this particular book on the Kindle app on my phone, which isn’t my favourite, but I’m making do. It’s a relatively short read at about 250 pages, so I’m not anticipating it will take too long to read anyway.

As of this post, I’m already 20% through the book, having picked it up just yesterday. The storyline is still in the introductory stages, so I can’t tell you too much about it right now. Set in the Byzantine empire, we follow a young woman called Thekla in this historical fantasy. She has fled from her family who are trying to marry her off to someone she is unwilling to commit to after her betrothed has stood her up for a third time. Shes young and fiesty, making her much more my cup of tea compared to Jade in The Girl in Seat 2A!

I can’t really tell you much more than that at this stage, as I’m just getting introduced into the story myself. I trust I’ll be able to share more with you in next week’s update.

 

Books Discovered

I went to town with family today, and of course I made us stop in Waterstones on our travels.

I’ve added a couple of books to my bookshelves as a result of that trip. One of the books I purchased was already on my TBR, but now I officially own my copy. So far, I’ve read and loved two books by C.J. Tudor, The Chalk Man and The Taking of Annie Thorne. With this in mind, I added The Burning Girls to my reading list just over a year ago. I didn’t yet own a copy of that book… until today!

The second book I discovered from Waterstones IOM Instagram page. It is their non-fiction book of the month, The Wager. I like the sound of the premise, and as I’ve just set myself another goal of picking up non-fiction again this year, it was a no brainer!

In addition, I added one further book to the reading list after Bibliobeth featured it on her Instagram. Again, another non-fiction, the Icepick Surgeon appealed to me because the title hints at some of the topics I explored and loved in when doing my psychology A-Level.

If you’re a bit squeamish, then perhaps this content is not for you. I suppose there is a theme in my reading, because this book explores the ethics and morality of science and where boundaries have been blurred in the past. Sound familiar to another book I’m currently reading?

 

Coming Up…

I’m not lying when I say I’m looking forward to going back to my regular blog schedule next week!

Still, there is no rest for the wicked, as my first post of the week is going to be a book review. I have a pending review on NetGalley for a book I read last year, Leadership and Culture. As leaving this outstanding can affect my feedback ratio and potential to be accepted for further downloads in future, I’m going to prioritise reviewing this. It’s also been outstanding since August last year; whilst not the longest a book has had to wait from me for a review, I don’t want to leave it too long either!

I’m keeping up with my Shelf Control and First Lines Friday features this year. So, this Friday, I will be back with a Shelf Control. If you are unfamiliar with this series, I take the opportunity to feature upcoming books on my reading list. I’ll tell you all about them in detail, and most importantly, share why I’m excited to pick it up!

The last post I will be sharing next week will be another Sunday Summary. With all the luck in the world, I will have as good reading week as I’ve had this week and I’ll have plenty of updates to share with you. Maybe my 10 book TBR isn’t so ambitious after all…

Who am I kidding?! 😂

 

That’s all from me in today’s Sunday Summary though! It’s 11pm and I’m off to prep lunches for the week ahead, and then get stuck in with a few pages of Betrothal and Betrayal before bed.

What are your Sunday plans?

 

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Sunday Summary – 31st December 2023

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Happy New Year’s Eve, and welcome to the last post I will be sharing in 2023! It’s been a fantastic year, and whilst I’m not going to go into too much detail in this post, know that I’m very happy with what I’ve achieved this year.

I’ve taken the smallest of steps back this week to celebrate Christmas and wind down a little bit before going full throttle next week. With this in mind, I’ve only shared one post so far, and that was my review of the book I started reading last week and finished this week – Order and Chaos.

Shall we dive into my last bookish update of the year?

 

Books Read

 

Order and Chaos

I started off the week having made an initial 20% progress into Order and Chaos, which I shared in last week’s Sunday Summary. I knew I wanted to review this book this week, so it was my priority to finish.

As a short story anthology, the book in itself isn’t very long. It lends itself very well to flexibility in picking up and putting down at will, which I definitely made use of around this otherwise busy period!

Of course, if you want to get into the detail of my thoughts on this book, that review is now live. You can find it here if you want to read more.

 

My Sister’s Keeper

I’ve made another couple of hours of progress with My Sister’s Keeper this week, bringing me to about 33% so far.

For a multitude of reasons, including the festive period, it’s been quiet at work at times this week. Whilst it’s not something I make a habit of, I have taken advantage of some of those quiet times. Thanks to the need to complete a necessary but monotonous job, I’ve been able to listen to this whilst working. In any other circumstance, I couldn’t really do it anyway.

Now the story is starting to develop and I cannot help but wonder how far this will go. It seems like battlelines are being drawn up by different characters and it’s anybody’s guess how nasty things will get!

 

Gemina

After completing Order and Chaos earlier this week, I picked up my next (and last) physical read of 2023 – Gemina by Jay Kristoff and Amie Kaufman.

As of this Sunday Summary post, I have made my way through the first couple of hundred pages, and have 450 to go. It’s fair to say that hoping to get through this before the end of the year is a tad optimistic! Nevertheless, I can’t think of a better book to be taking through into 2024. If you believe that kind of thing sets a precedent for what is to come, then I have everything good to look forward to!

I am curious to see how much of the book I can read before the end of the year though… stay tuned on the blog to find out in the coming week!

 

Books Discovered

Christmas definitely delivered on the promise for books added to my reading list, so strap yourselves in!

I received a total of six books from multiple family members on the big day. Some of these were specifically requested, and there were some surprises too, which I was very happy about!

The Eye of the World, The Great Hunt and Yellowface were books I put on my Christmas list. In addition, I received a physical copy of Fire Cannot Kill a Dragon, which I had already earmarked as a book I wanted to read, as well as A Stroke of the Pen by Terry Pratchett, and even a biography about owls. If you know me, then you know that I love owls and have them throughout my house. I’m even wearing owl earrings I got for Christmas right now!

 

Coming Up…

I have no less than five blog posts lined up for you next week. So, I hope you are looking forward to a little more activity from me next week. Can you see now why I took a wee break this week?

The first of the posts I will be sharing with you next week will be going live tomorrow. I might as well make the use of the bank holiday to prepare and share my monthly wrap-up for December 2023!

Following that, I’ll be back on Tuesday with a wrap-up for 2023. In this post, I’ll be looking back at the resolutions I set myself back in January and seeing how many I completed and what I have progressed with.

I’ll then kickoff my 2024 posts by sharing my goals and resolutions for the new year on Thursday. There aren’t necessarily going to be any wild changes in comparison to what I set myself this year. However, there are going to be a couple of new ones that don’t necessarily revolve around my reading. I plan to prioritise and set some social media goals. I hope you can check out that post later next week to find out more!

My January reading list will be going live on Friday. I have a number of great books lined up to kick off the year and I’m looking forward to sharing them with you all!

Last, but by no means least, I will be back with another Sunday Summary regular update at the same time next week. Let’s hope for lots to update you with that post!

But, for now, that is all from me. I am spending my New Year’s Eve tucked under a heated blanket with a cuppa and my copy of Gemina. How are you spending your New Year’s Eve?

 

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Sunday Summary – 24th December 2023

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Good evening readers and welcome back to my weekly Sunday Summary update. It’s a special one as it’s Christmas Eve, and I’m excited for the big day tomorrow! I may be an adult, but I love the big day as much as any child would. For different reasons, perhaps, but all the same! I’m looking forward to spending the day with my family, giving gifts and making memories!

However, it’s still Sunday evening and I owe you an update, so shall we dive in?

My first and only blog post I shared so far this week was an End of Year Book Tag. I was tagged by my follower Misty in her version of the post and invited to take part that way. I’ve taken part quite late in the day, so there’s only so much I could do towards some of the bullet points. If you’re interested in checking out what that post is all about, you can find a link to mine here!

I was supposed to share a Well, I Didn’t Know That! post on Friday, but I didn’t come to pass for a couple of reasons. The first of those is that I had a last-minute and late-night meet up with friends before Christmas. We had tried to meet up earlier in the month, but this had to be postponed due to illness. Secondly, I didn’t take up the post and share it on Saturday instead as my research into the topic of Christmas reading traditions was rather dry. Other than the Icelandic tradition of Jolabokaflod, I hadn’t uncovered anything else.

 

Books Read

 

The Success Code

As of last week’s Sunday Summary update, I was 20% into The Success Code by John Lees. I had not long started the book before I shared that update, and it was the physical read I carried over into this week.

I found myself picking up The Success Code at chapter or two at a time, chipping away at it over the course of the week and finishing it on Thursday. If I’m honest, I expected the book to be easier to read than it was. Don’t get me wrong, the language and messages within what easy enough to understand and take in. However, I found I couldn’t read more than a handful of chapters at a time. Out of the two non-fiction books I was reading at the same time, I expected this one to be easier than the other. In practice, it was the other way round.

I’ve still given The Success Code for stars as it has plenty of helpful advice that I have been thinking about, and will look to implement myself at work in the near future.

 

How to Win Friends and Influence People

The second non-fiction I carried through from last week’s Sunday Summary is How to Win Friends and Influence People by Dale Carnegie.

I enjoyed this audiobook every bit as much as I expected, and more besides! Although the book was written and first published in 1936, I found the advice within the book still relevant today. You can perhaps understand why I expected this to be the drier of the two non-fiction books this month; this was partly because of the publication date of this book, but also because it is narrated by Andrew Macmillan. He was a 70-something year-old at the time of recording in 2004.

How to Win Friends and Influence People is easier to listen to than you would expect, taking into consideration the above facts. Again, I’ll be looking to take some of these points on board and see if they can help me in my working life.

 

Order and Chaos

Moving on from the reads I carried over into this week, I picked up my e-book copy of Order and Chaos on completion of The Success Code. Order and Chaos is a short story anthology. Although I’ve only picked it up for one sitting so far, I already made it to 20% with very little effort. I’m looking to make considerably more progress tonight once this blog post goes live!

I don’t have too much to say on the book so far given that I’m still reasonably early into it. However, like Taking Liberties, which I reviewed earlier this year, it includes a range of stories that centre around the titular themes. Each story so far has taken a unique twist on the topics. I’m looking forward to seeing what other stories feature in the book and what they take on the theme is.

 

My Sister’s Keeper

Finally, I started another audiobook today, and it’s the last one on my list for December. Thank you to my friend Rachael for giving me a kick up the bum and getting me to start my cross-stitch project again. Around cleaning, I have been working on that project and listening to audio at the same time!

Just today, I have made approximately 15% progress with the audio. I’m not a big contemporary reader or listener. However, the narrative explores morality and human rights in the battle of Anna for her body autonomy.

Even from birth, Anna was designed with her sister in mind. Kate has leukaemia that keeps re-emerging, and Anna has grown up in her shadow, continually donating blood cells, then bone marrow, to help her fight the disease. The donations and surgeries become increasingly invasive until at 13, Anna puts her foot down when her sister needs a kidney.

So far, I’m really enjoying the story and the set up. I don’t know much more about the book beyond what I’ve described here, so I’m looking forward to exploring that further in the coming week.

 

Books Discovered

I’m still saving myself for Christmas, so once again, there’s nothing to see here!

Not long to wait now though…

 

Coming Up…

I’ll be taking a few days off to celebrate Christmas, and breaking the routine a bit. I’ve also decided to do this because the first couple of weeks of January are going to be busier than normal. I’ll rest up and get ready for some of that content ready now whilst I can!

I’ll share my first post of the week on Thursday and publish my review of my current read, Order and Chaos. A little while since I published a review and I’m looking forward to sharing my thoughts on this short story anthology before the end of the year.

My next post, and my last post of 2023, will be next week’s Sunday Summary update!

That’s all for me in today’s Sunday Summary though! I hope you have a wonderful day, a fabulous Christmas, and I will see you later next week. And if you are from a Nordic family and taking part in Jolabokaflod tonight, just know that I’m very jealous!

Have a great one!

 

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Sunday Summary – 17th December 2023

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Good evening all! It’s time for my Sunday Summary catch-up, and I have a great week to share with you! Before we get into the books I’ve been reading this week, let’s recap what I’ve shared on the blog.

The first post I published this week was a Top Ten Tuesday. The subject of this week’s post was my 2023/2024 Winter TBR. I’ve done iterations of this post throughout the seasons this year. Once again, I’ve enjoyed setting out my intentions for what to read in the next few months.

Later in the week, I shared my First Lines Friday post. For this week’s post, I set myself a challenge of featuring a book I do not yet own a copy of. If you like stories with a fairytale or theme park twist, how AI fits in such a setting and a murder to unravel, then I strongly suggest you check out this post!

 

Books Read

 

The Ballad of Songbirds and Snakes

I had to look back to my Sunday Summary post published on the 3rd December in order to work out where I left off with this book. I hadn’t touched it all last week. There are reasons for that, and I talked about that in last week’s Sunday Summary update. Reading progress was generally abysmal that week.

I’ve made up for that this week though! I picked up The Ballad of Songbirds and Snakes from chapter 13 onwards, which is a fraction over a third of the book. I read over the course of several days this week and reached the epic conclusion! Reading progress was slower than I expected, partly because of last week’s plans, but also because I knew what happened. A few weeks ago I went to watch the film in the cinema. It was interesting to see how each differed from the other. In some ways, they are very close… but there are differences. 

Had I not watched the film and known the ending, I might’ve been more compelled to read quicker. Despite watching/reading in the opposite way round to usual, I still really enjoyed both. I’m glad I’ve finally got into the prequel of The Hunger Games series, and I’m all the more excited to get back into the main one next year.

 

The Minders

Picking up from last week’s Sunday Summary, I listened to the remaining 40% of The Minders whilst cleaning and wrapping presents. I’m actively trying to utilise time where I can’t sit down and read more traditionally to pick up audio instead.

I enjoyed listening to The Minders and trying to work out what was going on in this conspiracy thriller. It may be my first John Marrs book, but it won’t be my last. The audio experience of this book was a good one. Whilst it wasn’t expansively cast, having a couple of different narrators made the narrative interesting and varied perspectives sufficiently to be able to work out who is who.

I listened to the majority of the audio yesterday morning; it was that compelling that I listened for approximately three hours!

 

The Success Code

The next physical read I picked up this week is The Success Code by John Lees. The Success Code is the first of two non-fiction books on December’s reading list. I’m aiming to read more than 15 non-fiction books before the end of the year. It’s also a very short book at just over 200 pages, which helps me stand a chance of completing this goal. 

In the last couple of days of the week after finishing The Ballad of Songbirds and Snakes, I have read just over 40 pages. In the 20% I have picked up so far, there are some interesting ideas in the book about how to get noticed, and debunking very common (and sometimes unhelpful advice) out there. It offers instead an alternative that will have more impact. I’ll be looking to take on some of this advice and I’m interested to see what else we explore in the book.

 

How to Win Friends and Influence People

The second and final non-fiction on my reading list for December is How to Win Friends and Influence People by Dale Carnegie. It’s also the second audiobook of the week.

In actual fact, I started this book today. I’ve already made my way through the first three chapters, or 25% of the book.

Much like The Success Code, How to Win Friends and Influence People has some solid advice on how to persuade by appealing to others. So far, each concept has been explained fully and backed up by examples and experts in the field. Although some may believe it a relatively dry subject, the audio is narrated in a way that it prompts the reader to take an active listening role. I’ve enjoyed what I’ve listened to so far today, and I plan to make further progress with the audio over the next week.

 

Books Discovered

There are no new additions to the reading list this week! Got to save myself for Christmas you see 😉

 

Coming Up…

The first post I am going to be sharing this week is a book tag. I was tagged in Misty’s rendition of the End of Year Book Tag and invited to take part. It may be a bit late in the day to answer some of the questions, but it’s a bit of fun nonetheless!

On Friday I’m due to share a Well, I Didn’t Know That! post. I know some countries have Christmas traditions revolving around books. I think I’d like to explore that topic a little bit more and share the results with you!

Finally, next week’s Sunday Summary will be landing on this page at the same time… and it will be Christmas Eve!

Where has the time gone? Are you prepared for Christmas yet? Are you reading anything festive to get in the mood?

 

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Top Ten Tuesday – 2023/2024 Winter TBR

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Over the course of 2023 I’ve been sharing Top Ten Tuesday seasonal TBR’s, (Spring, Summer and Autumn here) and today is no exception! In today’s post, I share the top 10 books I would like to prioritise reading in winter of 2023/2024.

I have a lot of books on my reading list and a rough idea of some of the goals I would like to set myself for reading in 2024. Some of them are a continuation of goals I set myself in 2023, and it’s with these in mind that I have put together this Top Ten Tuesday list.

Are you interested to see which books I intend to read in the next three months? Then, without further ado, let’s dive in:

 

The Ballad of Songbirds and Snakes

The first of the books on this list are ones that I am picking up throughout the month of December. It feels appropriate to feature them first, given that I will be physically getting to them first.

The Ballad of Songbirds and Snakes is a book I have intended to read for a while, but chose to expedite and pick up as a mood read last month. I went and watched the film in the cinema and I loved the story. A combination of a busy festive period so far, and I suspect, knowing what happens in the book, has meant that reading progress is a little slower than usual. However, I am enjoying the content. Given that I’m getting into the meat of the book now, I’m hopeful to finish the book soon!

 

How to Win Friends and Influence People

The second book on this list is another I intend to pick up in December. Contributing towards my non-fiction reading goal, I’m looking to finish How to Win Friends and Influence People before the end of 2023.

A further motive I have for picking the book up sooner rather than later is because I feel the content will complement a workshop I attended at work recently. Like I did with a similar communication course, I decided to follow that up with a relevant book (Surrounded by Idiots) and that worked really well the first time. I found exploring the content again in more detail in audio, helped cement what I learned and practised in that workshop.

 

Gemina

The last book I feature in this Top Ten Tuesday post that is relevant towards my 2023 reading is Gemina by Jay Kristoff and Amie Kaufman. Technically this book does contribute towards a reading goal of picking up and carrying on with series. However, the main reason I want to pick the book up is because I enjoyed the first one earlier this year and I don’t want to leave it too long before picking up the sequel.

This series is also a fun one to read as the story is told in mixed media format. That is something I have discovered this year and I have really enjoyed it! I’ve tried the format in multiple genres (sci-fi and mystery) and it works really well in both cases. I have quite a few books that I intend to read in December, and although Gemina is one of the longer ones, it will also be one of the easiest to read. I’m looking forward to it for the enjoyment factor alone!

 

The Hunger Games

As I briefly mentioned above, I have intended to pick up The Hunger Games trilogy again since watching and enjoying the films on TV not long ago. At the time, I didn’t realise that the film for the prequel was about to be released and that’s why they were showing. Once I found out, I decided that I was going to read the prequel and the series again in full, together!

I am currently reading the prequel, so I don’t intend to leave it too long before I go back in to the main series. By my reckoning, it’s been about 10 years since I picked up this original series and I’m curious to see how the experience will differ from last time!

 

The Good Samaritan

The Good Samaritan by John Marrs has been on my reading list for a little while. I always intended it to be my first John Marrs book, but my TBR jar put paid to that plan when I pulled out The Minders.

Incidentally, this is my current audiobook listen as of drafting this post and my experience of both the book and the author is a great one. I’m always slower on audio, but that’s no reflection on the book. It’s just not my preferred format. I’ve been listening to the book for a few weeks now and I’m getting to the point in the story where events are really picking up. I anticipate listening to the audio more intently as I’m intrigued by the narrative, and also mindful that I have at least one other audio that I want to get through before the end of the year!

Based on my experience of The Minders, I’m looking forward to picking up The Good Samaritan. The plot itself is what caught my attention, but the writing style of The Minders makes me think that The Good Samaritan could be even better than I expect!

 

Unmasked

I’m undecided as to whether I’m going to set myself non-fiction goal next year, but I want to keep up with reading them all the same.

Unmasked is a book I discovered and added to my reading list in the last few months. I’m intrigued to pick up Unmasked as it explores what it is like to live with neurodivergence such as ADHD and autism. I have a friend who was recently diagnosed with autism as an adult and honestly, I’m intrigued to read this perspective! We are all different people, have different values and think differently. However, I’m curious to read and experience a neurodivergent perspective and understand better what that means and the impact it has. 

 

Undoctored

Along the lines of continuing with non-fiction reads, I want to pick up the third non-fiction book by Adam Kay on my Top Ten Tuesday Winter reading list, Undoctored.

I have already read This Is Going to Hurt and T’was the Nightshift Before Christmas and I loved both books. Incidentally, this author came up recently in a chat amongst my friends, and that reminded me that I still had this book on my reading list to pick up. Whereas the other books on this winter TBR are either more serious or detailed fantasy/sci-fi worlds, Undoctored will add a degree of comedy to my reading that I don’t include much otherwise.

 

The Auschwitz Photographer

The last non-fiction book on this Top Ten Tuesday list is one that caught my eye in The Works ages ago. Whilst I don’t yet own a copy, I will happily read or listen to this book in any format.

Don’t ask me what it is, because I can’t rightly tell you, but I love books set around or about World War II. In particular, I have read quite a few that centre around experiences of the concentration camps. Previously I’ve enjoyed fiction (inspired by real experiences) such as The Tattooist of Auschwitz and Cilka’s Journey by Heather Morris. More recently, I’ve read more non-fiction on the topic, including The Diary of Anne Frank and just last month, The Boy Who Followed His Father into Auschwitz by Jeremy Dronfield.

It’s a topic that I can (and clearly do) read over and over again!

 

The Measure

These last two books on today’s Top Ten Tuesday post are books that don’t necessarily contribute to any reading goal, but I want to pick up because I like the sound of them!

I added The Measure to my reading list just over a year ago. The synopsis grabbed my attention, and it immediately popped into my mind when thinking about what mood reads I might want to read in the next few months.

Imagine waking up one day and receiving a parcel that would tell you just how long you had left to live. Imagine the whole neighbourhood gets one, and the consequences that would cause. That’s the concept of this book, and it has some great ratings on Goodreads. I can’t wait to see if The Measure meets expectations!

The Kingdom

The Kingdom is a standalone fantasy novel, which makes it unique on my TBR. I am typically a series reader, but I am excited to pick up this standalone. What also makes it a little different is that it has an element of romance, and then different again, between a robot and a human.

Combine fantasy and science fiction with murder mystery, and you’ve got the components of The Kingdom. Told through courtroom testimony, we explore the truth of what happens to Owen through his accused murderer’s case.

Truthfully, I added this to my reading list because it is an interesting concept and very unlike anything on my reading list to date. I picking this up for the variety it offers to my reading!

 

Summary

Those are the books I’m featuring in today’s Top Ten Tuesday – Winter TBR.

Have you read any of the books I featured in today’s Top Ten Tuesday list? Do you have any books you would like to recommend me to pick up in 2024?

As always, I’m really excited to hear from you, so please get in touch!

 

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Sunday Summary – 10th December 2023

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Hey fellow readers – welcome back to another Sunday Summary weekly update post! As always, I hope you’ve had a great week?

What have I been up to? Well that’s a very good question! As well as blogging, there have been a lot of Christmassy things going on in my life this week, and that reflects in my reading. More on that later.

In terms of blog posts I shared earlier in the week, I featured my December TBR on Tuesday. If you’re interested in seeing what’s on my final reading list of the year, then that is the post to check out. That post is also a special one as in publishing it, I hit a milestone this week. That TBR was actually my thousandth post on the blog! Can you believe it?!

On Friday, I returned with a Shelf Control post. In that series, I take a look at upcoming books on my reading list and why I’m excited to pick them up. This week’s featured book is one of the older fantasy books on my reading list. I’m excited to pick it up as it had influence on one of my favourite authors of all time. If you’re intrigued, there’s a link to that post to check it out.

 

Books Read


The Minders

It’s rare that my audiobook progress is more significant than my physical reading, but that is the case this week! Even then, I probably only listened to about 10% of the audio of The Minders. 

I had a lot of Christmas related errands or events this week. From meeting our Christmas party DJ for a planning meeting on Monday to a team Christmas lunch and then the actual party night itself, I’ve had a lot less reading time than I would normally. Some of the time I had was dedicated to keeping the blog in content to post, so my reading ultimately suffered more.

It’s not the end of the world, and it won’t be the last time either. I still have some Christmassy meet-ups planned, and Christmas presents to wrap. It’s just a busy time of year, am I right?

 

Books Discovered

In this Sunday Summary, I have a book I added to my reading list this week to feature, and I can’t wait to share with you!

I listened to an episode of the Currently Reading podcast for the first time in quite a while, and so picked up a reading recommendation this week.

A similar book to one I read and loved, The Appeal, was featured on the podcast. Murder in the Family is a mixed media book in which the reader is tasked with solving a murder case. I really enjoyed the mixed media element to The Appeal, and the way we had to read into subtext in order to work out character relationships. Whilst I understand from the podcast that this book does have some curveballs to make solving the murder difficult to impossible, I’ll enjoy the experience of unpicking the narrative and events all the same. I’m here for the journey, not the conclusion!

 

Coming Up…

The first post I intend to share next week is a Top Ten Tuesday. If you are unfamiliar with the series, it is a weekly series where bloggers can share a top 10 listicle on a given topic. Next week’s topic is a variation of one I have been doing throughout the year; I’ll be sharing my top ten books to read throughout the winter of 2023-2024. I published similar posts for spring, summer, and autumn earlier this year, and I’m excited to share the books I would like to read in the next few months!

The next Friday feature coming up on my list is a First Lines Friday post. The last time I shared this feature, I kept my options open. However, for this week’s regular feature, I am going to set myself a challenge! When I draft these posts, I have a tendency to veer towards the books I physically own. So, for this week’s post, I am going to feature the opening lines of a book on my reading list that I don’t yet own a copy of.

Last, but certainly not least, I’ll be back at the same time next week with another Sunday Summary. With any luck, with more to say than I’ve had this week!

What have you been reading recently? Maybe you can recommend me a book you loved lately?

 

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Sunday Summary – 3rd December 2023

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Good evening readers – I hope you’ve had a great week? I’ve enjoyed a nice week off work, and I’ve been using it to relax, get ready for Christmas… and read! Shall we dive into today’s Sunday Summary update?

On the blogging front, I shared a review of Ashes of Guilt by Isabella Steele on Wednesday. I needed to review the book before the end of the month, and so I shared my thoughts ahead of that time. If you enjoy short, compulsive thrillers, then I think you will enjoy this recent release.

On Friday, I shared my monthly wrap-up post for all the reading progress I made in November. I had a great reading month, completing my Goodreads challenge for the year and reading a wide variety of books in the process. If you missed that recap and would like to check it out, there’s a link above for you to do so.

 

Books Read

 

Ashes of Guilt

As of last week’s Sunday summary post, I was 66% into Ashes of Guilt. As you’ve probably gathered, finishing this book was my priority for the week as I wanted to review the book on Wednesday.

If you want to check out my full thoughts on the book, then I’d recommend you go and visit my full review. In summary, Ashes of Guilt is a fast-paced thriller where not all is as it seems. The small-town setting adds to the sinister setting and plot. It’s an enjoyable read and would make a great palette cleanser or speed read for anyone looking for something different.

 

The Minders

Although I didn’t finish this audiobook in November (or indeed, I haven’t yet finished it as of this Sunday Summary, either), but I have made a further three hours progress this week.

Overall, this brings me to about 50% of the way through the book. I’m intrigued by the narrative and how the story is going to unfold. The Minders is a conspiracy thriller, so naturally, we don’t fully understand what is going on. I’m intrigued by the set up so far and I’m excited to make further progress with this audio.

Although I’m less than habit of listening to audiobooks when I’m back in my normal routine, I am going to be trying to fit this in more. I can’t think of a better audiobook to encourage me to do so!

 

The Ballad of Songbirds and Snakes

The last book I’ve made progress with this week is a mood read I picked up after watching the film at the cinema. I took the opportunity to do that whilst I was off work this week and it has been a while! Whilst I can’t say the seats have gotten any comfier, I did enjoy the experience and the storyline of this particular book/film.

Having just DNF’d another book on my TBR (more below), I decided to pick this up instead.

I’ve been threatening to read this book since watching the hunger games films on TV. Whilst I didn’t realise whilst they were showing at the time, it is now clear why they were on! I’ve just expedited picking this book up, and I have no regrets!

As of this Sunday Summary post, I am 36%, or 12 chapters through the e-book.

 

Books DNF’d

 

The Witches: Salem, 1692 – A History

I picked up The Witches earlier this week, and it was a quick and decisive flop. I talk more about why I didn’t get on with the book in my monthly wrap-up post, but in short, I didn’t get on with the writing style.

 

Books Discovered

All is quiet on the TBR front this week with no new additions to note.

 

Coming Up…

The first post I intend to share next week will be my final TBR of the year. I may have beaten my official Goodreads challenge goal, but I am unofficially pushing to complete a minimum of five books in December to get a completion total over 60. If I can achieve more than that, then great, but we’ll see! Find out which books I’ll be reading to get me there on Tuesday.

Friday’s post needs to be a relatively easy one, as I need to get it prepared ahead of schedule. Thankfully, this week’s regular feature is a Shelf Control post. If you are excited to see which book I feature from my TBR, then check out my blog on Friday.

Lastly, I’ll be back at the same time next week with another Sunday Summary update post. As always, I hope you can join me to find out what I’ve been reading over the last week.

Until next time, happy reading!

 

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Sunday Summary – 26th November 2023

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Happy Sunday night (if ever there is such a thing?) and welcome to this week’s Sunday Summary instalment. I’ve had a productive week of reading and listening to audiobooks, which I’ll get onto below!

Firstly, I like to take the opportunity to share the blog posts I’ve already prepared and published this week. My first post of the week was a book review of The Appeal by Janice Hallett. If you enjoy complex mysteries where you need to read between the lines, multi-perspectives and/or mixed media books, then I strongly suggest you check it out!

This week’s Friday feature was a Well, I Didn’t Know That! post. In that post, I revived a habit of listening to podcasts and featured Philippa Gregory’s Normal Women podcast. Philippa is publishing a book with the same name in February next year. If you want some insight into one of the topics of the podcast, or more generally, check out that post!

 

Books Read

 

The Boy Who Followed His Father to Auschwitz

In my last Sunday Summary update, I had about 100 pages left of this historical non-fiction book. That’s where I began reading this week.

The Boy Who Followed His Father to Auschwitz is every bit as good as I thought it would be! Although the tales of this book are harrowing, the narrative is intriguing and I was rooting for Fritz and his father Gustav to make it out the other side.

Although I have read multiple books in the genre, every time it shocks me how brutally mistreated people like Fritz and Gustav were. The book is a great (and well-researched account) of life in multiple concentration camps throughout the Second World War. Although a difficult subject, the book is compulsively readable as the writing and level of investment in the characters was great.

 

Ashes of Guilt

The next physical read I picked up this week, and is my current read as of this Sunday Summary, is Ashes of Guilt by Isabella Steele. I am reading this to review it before the end of the month. Needless to say, I am making all haste with this book!

As of today’s Sunday Summary post, I am exactly two thirds, or 66%, through the narrative. As a relatively short thriller, it is a very fast-paced read. Already, we have worked our way through the points in the synopsis, making me wonder what twists and turns I can expect later in the narrative. It’s a bit quicker-paced than I am used to, but I’m getting on with it reasonably well regardless. I’m looking to finish Ashes of Guilt in the next day or so, so watch this space for my thoughts.

 

The Flood

I finally pulled my finger out and finished The Flood by Rachel Bennett this week. If you’ve been reading my blogs, you’ll know that I’ve been chipping away at this audio for a little while. Back in 2019, I added The Flood to my reading list as the author is currently living locally. I wanted to pick up the book and support her. I pulled this book out of the TBR Jar last month to read. 

Overall, I enjoyed The Flood. Part of the reason it took me so long is that I’m not in the habit of listening to audiobooks that much. The vast majority of my reading is done either through physical books or e-books on my Kindle. I do enjoy audio though, and the narration of this book went a long way towards my enjoyment of it. The story is well told, and I enjoyed how the two timelines ultimately come together to give us the full picture at the end.

 

The Minders

Having finally finished The Flood, I moved on to my next audiobook whilst I was in full flow. The Minders is my first ever book by John Marrs. Although I’ve only listened to around an hour and a half of this audio as of this Sunday Summary post, I can say the experience so far is a good one.

I’m intrigued by the narrative and how the story is going to play out. As I’m not that far in, I haven’t got any ideas as to where the story is going to go. I’m looking forward to finding out though!

I’m going to try and keep up the momentum and continue listening to The Minders. Naturally, I want to try to finish the audiobook as close to the end of the month as I can. Fortunately, I have time off work next week, so I have every opportunity to listen to this audio. Let’s see how far I can get in the next week!

 

Books Discovered

There are no new books added to my reading list. Currently, the list sits at 199 still to work my way through. Just a few, eh?

Having floated at just over 200 for some time, I can thank the reading progress I’ve made this week in tipping this under. Let’s hope it stays that way!

 

Coming Up…

On Wednesday, I plan to share my review of Ashes of Guilt. The book launches on Thursday so I want to get it out there ahead of publication and hopefully build some excitement!

On Friday I’ll be parking the regular Friday feature in favour of my month-end review post for November. As always, I’ll be recapping my reading month and sharing all the books I’ve picked up in the prior 30 days.

Finally, I’ll be rounding up the week with a Sunday Summary post. Fingers crossed for a week just as productive as this one!

Have you read any of the books I featured today?

 

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Sunday Summary – 19th November 2023

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Good evening everyone and welcome to another Sunday Summary post. If you’re off watching I’m A Celebrity, then I’ll understand! I’m watching it as I write, which is why this post is a bit shorter than normal!

So, what have I been up to this week? The first post I shared with you was a Top Ten Tuesday post, discussing which mainstream authors I have not (as yet) read any books by.

On Friday, I shared a First Lines Friday post. I kept my options open for this post, and in the end, I featured a book related to a series I read years ago and I’m looking forward to reading.

 

Books Read

 

Lost Solace

As of last week’s Sunday Summary post, I had only read the first chapter of Lost Solace by Karl Drinkwater.

I really enjoyed this break and change of genre. Having read books in Karl’s Tales of Lost Solace series, I already had some knowledge and high expectations of the book.

It didn’t disappoint! I read Lost Solace very quickly and I thoroughly enjoyed it! There is plenty of action to keep us entertained, and just the right amount of detail/jargon so as not to overwhelm a non-techy reader.

 

The Boy Who Followed His Father to Auschwitz

After Lost Solace, I moved on to my current read, The Boy Who Followed His Father to Auschwitz.

It’s a difficult book to read for its topic, but it is compulsively readable in style. I’m really enjoying this book. It’s a harrowing topic, and awful to think that so many people lived through the horrors this book touches on! Even so, this is a fantastic book.

As of this Sunday Summary, I’m 240 pages into the book. Ignoring the appendices, that leaves me with another 100 pages to go. Already so much has happened in the narrative. A part of me wants to find out what happens to the titular Gustav and his son, Fritz – how their story ends.

 

Books Discovered

I’ve added one book to my reading list this week as a result of Friday’s post. I want to re-read the whole series again, this time including The Ballad of Songbirds and Snakes.

 

Coming Up…

On Wednesday, I plan to share a book review with you. This week, I’m reviewing The Appeal by Janice Hallett.

On Friday I’ll be back with a Well, I Didn’t Know That! post! It’s been a while since I made a habit of listening to some podcasts, so I might try to incorporate that into this feature. Stay tuned to find out more!

Last, but not least, I’ll be returning with a Sunday Summary post. As always I hope to have plenty to catch you up on in that post.

In the meantime, that’s all for this Sunday Summary post!

What have you read recently?

 

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