Tag: contemporary fiction

Top Ten Tuesday – Books That Surprised Me

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In today’s Top Ten Tuesday post, I’m sharing the ten books that surprised me. Most are for good reasons, although there are a couple of exceptions to that rule.

Very often we go into books with a preconception of what we’re going to make of it. The books in today’s Top Ten Tuesday post are featured today because they didn’t live up to this preconception, for one reason or another. I’ll explain why for each book below.

Books That Surprised Me

A Promised Land

I had my doubts about whether I’d enjoy the A Promised Land and a book with a heavy emphasis on politics. It’s not a topic I’ve ever really taken much interest in before.

I think it helped that the book was written by (and the audiobook narrated by) Barack Obama. I quite like him as a person and I already had an idea of the family history through reading Becoming by his wife, Michelle.

Don’t expect me to be reading books by any and all politicians now. But this was a pleasant surprise.


Ship of Magic

In contrast to Assassin’s Apprentice, I didn’t take to Ship of Magic straight away. Having read three books in the wider series so far and then changing to something set in a world seemingly completely different, it took some time for me to adjust.

I confess I also wasn’t sure initially of how I felt about the magic around the ships. It was a bit of an odd concept, but I came to love it over the course of the trilogy.


Empire of the Damned

Empire of the Damned surprised me in a good way. Having loved the first book of the series as much as I did, I had very high expectations, and therefore doubts, that the second instalment could live up to the first. I’m pleased to say that I was very wrong!

I really enjoyed the further character development and seeing where the plot is starting to go. If there’s one thing I like in my books, it’s feeling a little bit of worry or concern for characters. I never know if they’re going to make it out of a sticky situation or not. It adds tension to an already action-packed and exciting narrative, and I’m looking forward to continuing this series!


The Ballad of Songbirds and Snakes

I confess The Ballad of Songbirds and Snakes is a book that surprised me in a less positive way.

After watching the film at the cinema when it came out, I decided to pick up the book pretty much straight after. However, I struggled a little with motivation to finish the book despite loving the series.

I expect this is because I’d watched the film and didn’t have the anticipation of ‘discovering’ the ending. Still, I got there in the end!


Wizard and Glass

Wizard and Glass surprised me as the vast majority of the book isn’t set in the present day. In contrast to the earlier books in the series, this one largely recounts how characters have ended up where they are to date.

This didn’t really fit with the rest of the series to my mind. Earlier info drops (albeit on the lighter side, admittedly) were interspersed with the present-day action. However, Wizard and Glass provided important context, and in hindsight, this probably couldn’t have been covered in any depth in any other way.


A Brief History of Time

I went into reading A Brief History of Time with the worry that it would be too technical a book for me to understand. That proved not to be the case, though!

I’m by no means a scientific brain, so I’d say this is largely approachable to anyone with an interest in the subject. Whilst there is a good level of detail in the book if you wish to delve that far, it’s not essential to complete the book or understand the topics within.


Eleanor Oliphant is Completely Fine

Eleanor Oliphant is Completely Fine surprised me because I allowed myself to be disarmed by the main character.  I trusted her perspective more than I think I would and should have in hindsight.

It made for good reading though, and when the twist came I felt a little daft for not seeing it for myself.


The Lost Metal

The Lost Metal finds itself on the list of books that surprised me because I didn’t expect the ending. I both enjoyed and railed at its ending; only a handful of books make me cry. The Lost Metal reduced me to tears at the very end.

The Lost Metal is a fantastic series and one I’ll read again. As much as a part of me was sad it was the end, the way it ended was the icing on the cake.


As Long As the Lemon Trees Grow

The book As Long As the Lemon Trees Grow surprised me because it’s a very different contemporary fiction to what I normally listen to/read. Still, I was captivated by the story and the cultural aspect of the book. I loved this book so much that it made my list of debut novels I enjoyed.

Also, as a bonus, I didn’t anticipate an unreliable narrator in this story. It’s a favourite element of mine.


Golden Son

Sadly, I have to end this Top Ten Tuesday post with a book that surprised me in a bad way.

I loved the first book of Pierce Brown’s Red Rising series. However, the sequel Golden Son fell very flat for me. The book did not live up to my expectations. It felt like us readers were barely given a moment to breathe before characters jumped from one catastrophe to the next. The pacing felt very off and sacrificed time for world-building. My disappointment in this sequel is strong enough that I doubt I’ll continue the series.


Summary

Thanks for reading today’s Top Ten Tuesday post. Today I’ve enjoyed bringing to you the ten books that surprised me (and why)!

What was the latest book that surprised you – in a good or bad way? I’d love to hear from you!

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Monthly Wrap-Up – February 2025

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We’re now two full months into 2025. I want to get in nice and early with my monthly wrap-up for February to update you on the books I picked up, and in some cases put down, during the last month.

One of my main reading goals for February was to pick up books around the theme of Black History Month. Not all of my books fit into this category, as they were either carryovers from January or I had to read them for other commitments. How I did with February’s TBR surprised me; there were books I wasn’t sure about that but I’ve gone on to really enjoy, yet equally there are books I thought I’d get on with, but didn’t. 

Shall we get into this monthly wrap-up so you can see just how this month has gone?

Books Read


A Darkness at Sethanon

A Darkness at Sethanon was a carryover from January‘s TBR. I was just a couple of chapters in at the point of setting this book on my February monthly TBR.

Admittedly, I didn’t get much further than that before I put it down. Although I had recapped myself on events so far in the series, I was struggling to get into it. If I’m entirely honest, I didn’t love the books before this one. They were okay to read, but I didn’t have any burning desire to pick up this last instalment. If anything, I was motivated to try so I could mark the series as complete.

However, I decided it wasn’t worth slogging through this book in order to give myself that accolade. I have now finished this series, but it has a DNF as opposed to a completion.


Fearing the Black Body: The Racial Origins of Fat Phobia

A few weeks ago, I started listening to Fearing the Black Body. I ended up listening to this audiobook over the course of a weekend. I didn’t expect to love this book in the way that I did. It was really interesting, and I liked how the book was broken down and considered different ideas and arguments. I wouldn’t say this book is to be taken as gospel. However, it does consider some interesting ideas on why racism could play a role in our current culture’s fat phobia.

I wouldn’t describe this as a book that I would typically read. However, I’m glad I did. It’s a good way to get an alternate perspective on things, as well as consider things from a non-racial perspective as well. In addition to the race argument, the author also offers religion as a possible source of some of the negativity around larger bodies too.


A Promised Land

The second audiobook I picked up this month, and admittedly I’m still reading as of this monthly wrap-up post, is A Promised Land by Barack Obama. If there’s one book on this TBR I thought I was at risk of DNFing, it was this one. In truth, it’s one of the books I’m enjoying the most this month.

Politics is a subject that is out of my comfort zone. My overarching opinion generally of politicians is that they don’t achieve anything for the masses. instead, they use their office to promote their own self interest. I can be forgiven for this view when you consider the amount of cronyism that gets highlighted on the news.

So far, I don’t find Barack to be your typical politician. My overall perception of Barack Obama when he was in office was that he was a decent president.

Listening to his book, I still have this view. I’ve enjoyed listening to some of his insights on what his priorities were as a president. He also covers a number of different unplanned situations he had to deal with in office.

Naturally, this book is far more involved to the likes of Michelle Obama’s Becoming in describing the politics of his life. He’s not averse to making jabs here and there against other parties and individuals, but for the most part I’m getting on with the book well.

The only reason I’m still listening to this audiobook at the end of February is because it is so long! The audiobook is just over 29 hours long. As a drafting this post, I have just under 12 and a half hours left to listen to.


In Every Mirror She’s Black

Another read I intended to complete as part of this February TBR relating to Black History Month is In Every Mirror She’s Black. A few years ago I acquired my copy of the book in a Waterstones sale after Christmas. I liked the sound of the book and I thought it was going to have something quite prominent to say when it comes to race – how seemingly different black women end up experiencing the same treatment in life.

However, having gotten a third into this book, I still couldn’t tell where the storyline was intending to take us or what message it was trying to put out. So, I decided to DNF it. I was bored. The plot was meandering between the three female perspectives and not really giving any context as to what it was trying to say. Nothing significant was happening and I wasn’t enjoying reading it.

It’s a shame, because I think it could’ve been a good book if it started to get to its point a little quicker.


The Da Vinci Code

If you are a regular reader, you will know that I host a book club at work. We meet once a month, typically towards the end of a month, and discuss a book of a members choice.

A couple of months ago, we came up with the idea of reading The Da Vinci Code. Some members had already read the book a long time ago, whereas others like myself had not read it before. It sounded like a good book for discussion, so we decided to pick that up.

I’m sorry to say that I didn’t like this one either. I read 29% of the book before I DNF this one too. Whilst I enjoyed the ideas of symbolism and the murder mystery aspect of the storyline, I felt overall that it was a very pretentious book. There is a lot of detail on symbolism and at times, I felt the narrative was talking down to me to have to explain some of it. I also found the idea of these clues being left for Robert too far-fetched.

In principle, one of the characters had approximately 15 minutes to lay down all these clues before he passed away from a fatal injury in order to point Robert to his murderer. After discussions with another book club member, there are perhaps reasons why this was plausible for the character to do given his position and preplanning for such an eventuality. However, it just felt far-fetched to me and I wasn’t a fan of the tone of the book.


Children of Virtue and Vengeance

Lastly, we get to the final book of my February TBR, Children of Virtue and Vengeance. I am still reading this book as of publishing this monthly wrap-up post, but I confess I’m not loving this one either. At this point, I don’t think it’s the fault of the book, but more to do with the fact that I’m in a reading funk.

As of this monthly wrap up post, I’m 20% into the book and I’m going to keep going with it for now. I probably not help myself in that it’s been a good number of years since I read the first book of the series. I have recapped myself on events, But leaving it so long is probably acting as a blocker helping me immerse myself back into the storyline.


Summary

It’s fair to say that reading progress in February didn’t end up going so well. Whilst I have read some enjoyable books in the month, I DNF’d three books – basically half the list!

I may need to reconsider my reading plans for March to help get myself out of whatever reading funk I’m in right now.

Thanks for reading today’s monthly wrap-up! Have you read any great books recently that you can recommend to help?

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Monthly Wrap-Up – January 2025

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The first month of 2025 has flown by! It’s been a fun start to the year. And, as I hoped, I’ve picked up some great books to get me started. Today’s monthly wrap-up post is dominated by books I rated five-stars. What more could I ask for?

I set myself an ambitious monthly TBR, but I’m not going to knock myself down for not being able to match my enthusiasm with results. I still picked up the vast majority of the reading list. What didn’t make it in January is going to come back very shortly.

So, shall we take a look at the books I did manage to pick up in January?


Books Read


The Priory of the Orange Tree

I started the year with an audiobook listen of The Priory of the Orange Tree by Samantha Shannon. I did this deliberately as I wanted to start the year right. I’ve heard great things about this fantasy, and I wanted to make sure that one of my first reads of 2025 was going to be a four or five-star rating.

At the beginning of January, I had already listened to just over half of this audiobook (55% if you want to get specific). That still left me with around 11 or 12 hours of audio to progress with. Whilst technically this is only half the book, that is more than a whole book’s worth when you think about the average book length I typically read!

Needless to say, my tactic worked. I rated The Priory of the Orange Tree five stars. I loved this fantasy inside out. It was a fun read with compelling characters and an interesting plotline anyway. However, its emphasis on strong female lead characters really made this even better for me.

 

Fool’s Errand

The second and final book I carried over from my December monthly wrap-up was Fool’s Errand by Robin Hobb. Admittedly, I was much less into this book when I started the year. Aside from the first 56 pages, I pretty much read the whole book in January.

Fool’s Errand broke my heart in every way I feared it would. I really enjoyed being back in the world of Fitzchivalry Farseer and seeing how events have moved on from the first trilogy in the Realm of the Elderlings series. The foreshadowing at the beginning of this book hammered home my fears about what may happen in this latest instalment.

Can a book be both great and terrible at the same time? It was the events of this book that were tragic. The storyline and writing itself it’s usual fantastic standard. Robin Hobb is not known for pulling her punches when it comes to her main characters. Do we really get invested in them if we know they’re going to turn out right in the end?

Fool’s Errand achieved another five star rating and really cemented a good reading start for me this year.


Shuggie Bain

Back in November, our book club at work decided that we would reconvene in January after reading Shuggie Bain by Douglas Stewart.

Admittedly, this isn’t the type of book I would’ve picked up of my own volition. That’s the benefit of a book club! It gives you the chance to pick up and read new things and really get out of your comfort zone. Remember, that’s one of my reading goals for this year.

Whilst I confess I didn’t love every aspect of Shuggie Bain, that’s not to say I didn’t get anything out of it. The book is very bleak in its outlook, but gives great perspective on quite pivotal problems in our society like alcoholism, addiction and the impact these things have on families.

From our discussion, we came to the conclusion that whilst these things feel like a very distant problem for other people, they’re not so far under the surface. Quite often those afflicted are very good at masking their problems. Also, it’s dangerous that substances such as alcohol are so widely available to trap those trying to free themselves of their addiction.


Firefight

The final book I picked up and read to completion before the end of the month was Firefight by Brandon Sanderson. I appreciate fantasy has featured quite heavily on this month’s TBR, but I’m not apologetic for it. It’s my favourite genre for a reason! Brandon Sanderson is also always a great read. I’ve loved every single one of his books, even when you’re taken into consideration how varied they are.

Firefight is the second book of his The Reckoners trilogy. Part of the reason I wanted to pick this up early in the year is so I have just one book left in the series. You may also recall a featured this series in my Series to Finish in 2025 post.

I didn’t anticipate the ending of this book, but I went into it pretty open-minded. I really enjoyed how events played out in the book and it’s gotten me all the more excited to pick up the final instalment of the series very soon!


A Darkness at Sethanon

The last book I picked up before the end of the month, though admittedly I only got a couple of chapters in, was A Darkness at Sethanon by Raymond E Feist.

This book is also a final instalment in a series and that is the main reason for picking this book up. I want to make an effort continuously to keep finishing up series I’ve started and get the list back under control.

There’s not much to say as of this monthly wrap-up post, other than to say that I’ve gotten myself caught up on events of the prior books in the series and I’m looking forward to diving into this one in earnest!


Summary

This monthly wrap-up post has illustrated to me that my aims of picking up high-quality reads in my favourite genre for January have set me up in good stead for the rest of the year. With no less than 3 five-star reads already under my belt, I’m looking forward to continuing the positive streak.

Did you pick up any five-star reads in January? Do you have any reading goals you are prioritising for 2025?

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Sunday Summary – 26th January 2025

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Drafting my weekly Sunday Summary is always a reminder that another weekend is over. That’s perhaps a bit dramatic given I’m initially drafting this post in the afternoon. But still, the sentiment stands. Weekends fly by far too quickly! How have you spent yours?

Before I jump into a recap of the books I’ve been reading over this week, let’s take a look at the blog posts I’ve shared with you so far. The first post I shared this week was a Top Ten  Tuesday. This week I featured the 10 newest books I’ve added to my collection. I bought quite a few lately, and that doesn’t even take into consideration the voucher I received for Christmas yet. That remains unspent, but for how long, who knows?

On Friday, I shared a Shelf Control featuring The Whisper Man by Alex North. It’s been a little while since I featured and/or read a police procedural novel. The synopsis gives off thriller vibes and I’m looking forward to reading this soon.

 

Books Read


Firefight

I confess, I was hoping for Firefight to be finished this week. I can’t say I’ve gotten that far, but I have made good progress with this audiobook. Today alone I’ve listened to around three hours! Add that to the two hours I listened to earlier this week and you can see I’ve still made significant progress!

I’m really enjoying Firefight. At this point of the book, I have three hours of audio left and I’m still not sure how things are going to play out. There is clearly going to be a conflict with the Reckoners, hopefully preventing a dangerous Epic from doing something drastic. As to how the other Epics are going to play into that storyline though, remains to be seen.

So far, my experience of the book is that it’s every bit as good as the first book in the series, Steelheart. With so little left of the audio and the conclusion rapidly coming up, I’m sure I will get a completion in the next few days. Hopefully, before the end of the month!

 

Shuggie Bain

Progress with Shuggie Bain has been slower, but I made up for it today and finished the last 100 pages. You think I would have read it sooner, taking into account our book club meeting to discuss the book is in just a few days…

Whilst I have enjoyed the book, the themes and the subject matter can make this a little difficult to sit and read in long bursts. The characters go through some very awful things. One of the main characters is Shuggie‘s mum, Agnes. She struggles with alcohol addiction and depression as well. She’s had marital woes throughout her adult life, and as a result of all these things, most of her children try to avoid anything to do with her. Shuggie is the youngest and is left behind to pick up the pieces.

He is far too aware of what his mother goes through and does his best to try to make things better for her. He’ll even compromise himself to make her feel happier. It’s emotional and heartbreaking to read.


Books Discovered

I’ll think I’ll be off buying any new books for a little while, given I made it perfectly clear I’ve bought plenty in the recent past!


Coming Up…

So, we come to the part of my Sunday Summary posts in which I tell you what’s coming up next.

The first of my blog posts is intended to go live on Wednesday. With my 2025 resolutions in mind, I wanted to draft a post in which I set out which book series I want to finish in 2025. Carrying on with and completing series is one of my reading goals for the year, and this will be a great place to set out my intentions. And to hold myself accountable….

Next, I plan to share my monthly wrap-up post for January on Saturday, the 1st of February. In that post, I’ll recap the books I’ve picked up throughout January in comparison to the monthly TBR I set myself. I know I’m not going to get through the whole monthly TBR at this point, but I’m going to do my best to pick up as much as I can between now and then.

Lastly, I’ll be back with another Sunday Summary update post to catch you up on my weekly goings-on. As always, I hope you can join me for any and preferably all these posts.

Until then, I hope you have a great week!

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Top Ten Tuesday – The Ten Most Recent Additions to My Book Collection

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In today’s Top Ten Tuesday post, I share my ten most recent additions to my book collection. Between Christmas and my own wanderings into the book store (always dangerous for my bank account), I’ve not had to look far for the features in this post.

Hopefully this Top Ten Tuesday will give you some bookish inspiration for future reads. It certainly won’t do anything to make me feel better about my bank account balance, but that’s my own problem 😅

Just kidding, I have no remorse!

 

The Ten Most Recent Additions to My Book Collection


The Earth Transformed

I recently went on a bit of a spending spree in Waterstones, and purchased a copy of The Earth Transformed. It’s not because I’ve discovered the book before; rather, the premise of the book caught my attention there and then. It’s fair to say it was a bit of a ‘whim’ purchase.


A Man Called Ove

Although not officially on my TBR at the point I purchased a copy, I have been eyeing up A Man Called Ove for some time. In fact, I suggested it as one of our work book club’s first reads mid-last year. Having heard what I have about the book, I have high expectations. I love the idea of the character and if the introduction I featured in last week’s First Lines Friday is anything to go by, it should be a cracker.


Ultra-Processed People

I’ve looked at Ultra-Processed People a few times as well before getting my copy a few weeks ago. It seems especially relevant this year as I’m trying to be more mindful of the food I eat.

It’s easier to make better choices when you’re more informed about what is good and what is not, right?

 

This Book May Save Your Life

The book that’s been the longest on my TBR in this Top Ten Tuesday is This Book May Save Your Life.

I actually added this to the TBR in September 2023. The author has created a lot of short-form content on the likes of Facebook and it was through those I discovered the book.

My expectation is that the author’s humour and quirky fact finding fill make for a fun read. I’m sure the book will also be somewhat useful, but it’s for the humour I’m looking forward to reading it.

 

The Anxious Generation

I had added The Anxious Generation to my reading list a few weeks before picking up a copy. It just happens that Waterstones were doing a buy one get one half price feature and included this particular book.

Thankfully, I’m of an age where I just missed out on technology and social media dominating my childhood. I’m glad that it didn’t! I would’ve hated to grow up in today’s society. It’s going to be interesting to read about the impact that’s had on children today.


Julia

I received a copy of Julia for Christmas. I had asked for a clothbound classic edition of 1984 by George Orwell. I also received a copy of this book as a companion to that.

I’m looking forward to reading Julia as it presents a more modern take on the story with a different perspective on events.


1984

As I mentioned above, I received a copy of 1984 by George Orwell for Christmas I have read this book a couple of times before school (with admittedly not a great rating from me then. However, I re-read the book as an adult and in the context of not having to study it for an assignment. The experience was a completely different one and I loved the book!

I expect this is a classic I will re-read time and again. Now I have a fancy edition to pick up…


Shuggie Bain

Shuggie Bain is not the type of book I would have picked up of my own volition. Rather, our book club at work are reading Shuggie Bain at the moment. So, I purchased my copy secondhand ahead of the club meet next week.

It’s been good to pick up something different. One of the reading resolutions I set myself this year is to read out of my comfort zone. This book definitely fits into that category!

It’s a shame that children such a Shuggie have to grow up in the way they do. As a young child, he is far too aware of the unsavoury side of life. He is bullied at the age of 8+ because he is gay. I’m not even sure he knows it yet, but other kids do. He is also aware of his mother‘s depression and dependency on alcohol. It’s proving a difficult read for this reason, but it will also make great discussion in book club.


Eve

I bought Eve, again opportunistically, because I like the sound of the book. There’s quite a lot of these in this Top Ten Tuesday. That fact hasn’t escaped me.

I’m sure readers are all too aware that the impact women have had on society historically has been… downplayed.

Eve sets to set the score straight. Even if the impact of women has been written out of the history books, it cannot be excluded from our biology. The human body has a lot to thank women for. From how the female body helps provide immunisation (and thus survival) to infants to why we’re more likely to get Alzheimer’s, I’m looking forward to this scientific angle on why women are who we are today.


Orbital

Orbital was featured in Waterstones (you can tell where I do a lot of my physical book shopping…) as the Booker Prize winner for 2024. I liked the sound of it, so I bought myself a copy.

I also like that it’s a shorter book. I regularly pick up large fantasy novels. When I need something shorter to break up that reading, Orbital will be perfect.


Summary

Thanks for reading today’s Top Ten Tuesday feature. Have you purchased or received any new books lately?

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Sunday Summary – 19th January 2025

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Happy Sunday, fellow readers, and welcome back to another Sunday Summary post from yours truly. Before we get into it, have you had a good week?

I’ve been back to the usual blog schedule this week. Whilst I had fun sharing posts last week, it’s not a pace I can sustain. I will be doing it a little bit more often though. So, what have I shared this week? Firstly, I put together my review of Ship of Magic by Robin Hobb and published this on Wednesday. Fans will be glad to see plenty of content about her here!

Next, I featured one of my recent purchases in Friday’s First Lines Friday feature. I set this as a challenge for myself in last week’s Sunday summary post; I’m pleased to say I delivered.


Books Read


The Priory of the Orange Tree

I finally concluded this nearly 26-hour audiobook this week. It’s taken a good few weeks, but at the same time, this is probably the fastest I’ve listened to an audiobook for a little while.

When I first started this audiobook, I had reservations about how much detail I would take in. Fantasy is typically a very dense genre in terms of world building, etc. In the past, audiobooks have not been the best format for me to listen to these in. However, The Priory of the Orange Tree debunked that belief.

Maybe I need to give myself some more credit. Perhaps I’m more used to listening to audiobooks now and picking up the content this way. I’m not entirely sure why this worked, but I’m pleased to say it did.

The bulk of the audio left for this week was the epic conclusion. It was every bit as good as I expected it to be, and I rated this book 5 stars without hesitation. Needless to say, Samantha Shannon is going to be a future feature on my TBR with her other books!


Firefight

I’ve made pretty good audiobook progress this week. After finishing The Priory of the Orange Tree, I started Firefight by Brandon Sanderson this weekend.

Picking up Firefight on audio is a change from the first book. I’m pretty sure I read that one on Kindle. However, it worked well to pick this up in audio and continue listening to fantasy.

I always enjoy picking up books by Brandon Sanderson, regardless of the setting or the magic he has created for the book. Firefight is the second of three books in his The Reckoners trilogy. If you like books about superheroes and epic villains with magic, this is the best way I could describe the series to you. In Firefight, we’ve been introduced to a number of new characters, good and evil alike, and I’m looking forward to seeing how they clash over the remaining pages!

So far, I’ve listened to a two and a half hours of this 12-hour-long audio. Admittedly, I’m listening to this at x1.2 speed, so this works out at 7 hours and 45minutes left of actual listening time left.


Shuggie Bain

I left off from last week’s Sunday Summary update having just started the first 50 pages of Shuggie Bain. Over the course of the week, I have read a further 160-odd pages, bringing me to just over 50% progress on the book as of this Sunday Summary.

It’s not the easiest of reads in that the characters go through an awful lot. From poverty and alcoholism to death and adultery, the characters in this book don’t have a lot going for them. At the present time in the book, Shuggie is just a child watching this play out. But he’s not ignorant of what’s going on either. He’s all too aware of his mother‘s faults and it’s heartbreaking to see him try to make her happy or help her cope. As an ten-year-old child, he shouldn’t be responsible or feel responsible for his mother in the way that he does.


Books Discovered

Given the mini-haul I racked up last week, I have firmly put a lid on the purse strings, but also kept my head down. As a result, I’ve not added anything new to the reading list this week. I have enough as it is!


Coming Up…

The first post I plan to share with you next week is a Top Ten Tuesday. The feature of that post will talk about recent additions to my book collection. Even just looking back to last week’s Sunday Summary, you’ll see I have plenty to talk about!

Later in the week, I plan to share another Friday feature with you. This week it’s the turn of my Shelf Control post. So, I hope you can join me to look ahead at a police procedural thriller I’m looking forward to reading.

Lastly, you know the drill. Next Sunday will be the return of my Sunday Summary update post. I’m aiming to have a completion of Shuggie Bain in that post, and maybe even Firefight if I can step up my audio listening. Can I do it? You’ll have to check out that post to find out!

Until then, have a fabulous week whatever your plans are, and I will see you around soon!

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First Lines Friday – 17/01/2025

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Good evening and welcome to this First Lines Friday post! It’s the end of another working week for a lot of people (myself included!) and the weekend is finally here. Do you have any exciting plans?

In last week’s Sunday Summary I set myself the challenge of featuring a book I purchased last Sunday in this First Lines Friday. I checked them all out before I made my decision on which was best. You should be able to guess which one from the opening lines.

Let’s get into today’s First Lines Friday introduction, then I’ll follow with the details of the book:


Ove is fifty-nine.

He drives a Saab. He’s the kind of man who points the people he doesn’t like the look of, as if they were burglars and his forefinger a policeman torch. He stands at the counter of a shop where owners of Japanese cars come to purchase white cables. Ove eyes the sales assistant for a long time before shaking a medium-sized white box at him.

‘So this is one of those O-Pads, is it?’ he demands.

 


A Man Called Ove  – Fredrik Backman

Genre:  Contemporary fiction

Pages: 337

Audience: Adult

Publisher: Atria Books

Publication Date: 15 Jul 2014

 

Goodreads – A Man Called Ove

Ove is almost certainly the grumpiest man you will ever meet. He thinks himself surrounded by idiots – joggers, neighbours who can’t reverse a trailer properly and shop assistants who talk in code.

But isn’t it rare, these days, to find such old-fashioned clarity of belief and deed? Such unswerving conviction about what the world should be, and a lifelong dedication to making it just so?

In the end, you will see, there is something about Ove that is quite irresistible . . .


My Thoughts…

There is something about a curmudgeonly main character that appeals to me. We all know how hilarious the elderly and outspoken can be at the best of times.

Now more than ever it must be difficult to live in our modern world. With the only constant being change, I can imagine myself being very sympathetic to Ove and his experience of life in these 300-odd pages.

I’m looking forward to reading a refreshing change in perspective. It’s not very often that I read fiction with a protagonist like Ove. I pride myself on reading diversely, and so I should also read more from all characters, perspectives and walks of life.

Lending to my aims of reading more diversely, this book was originally published in Swedish and translated into English a year later. It’s not often I read translated works, but I’m glad to have gotten a copy of this ready to read.

Have you read A Man Called Ove?

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Sunday Summary – 12th January 2025

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Good evening friends and welcome to another Sunday Summary update. I have plenty to catch you up on. I have a book completion to talk about and a new start this week. Shall we get stuck in?

So far this week, I’ve already shared three blog posts with you. That’s because I have quite a lot of content to push out at the beginning of the year. I didn’t want to get behind with sharing what my intentions are in 2025. So, my first post of this week was my 2025 resolutions. Some of the resolutions look similar to last year, but there are some new ones too.

Next, I shared my monthly TBR for January. Many of the chosen books in that TBR relate somewhat to my resolutions post; that’s why I wanted to get that post out first. I’ve ambitiously set myself a goal to read seven books in January. Whilst I’m not convinced I will read them all, I’m going to work my damned hardest to get through as many of them as I can!

On Friday, I shared my Shelf Control post. This week’s feature is a book I added to my reading list after enjoying a trilogy written by the same author. I’m also intrigued by this synopsis as it sounds different to most of the books I pick up. But, it does remind me of one other series. One I loved, in fact!


Books Read


The Priory of the Orange Tree


Reading progress with The Priory of the Orange Tree by Samantha Shannon ticks on at a solid pace. I’ve listened to a few more hours of the audio this week and I’m rapidly coming to the conclusion of the book.

With just over three hours of the audio left to listen to, I’m starting to see how characters should slot into place for what I expect to be an epic conclusion. I’m looking forward to seeing how these final scenes play out. I’m undecided as yet as to whether events are going to conclude quite well, or if things are going to go a bit pear-shaped.

The depth of detail in the characters, places, and religion that defines the overall setting of the book amazes me. A lot of thought has clearly gone into this, and I was concerned that I wouldn’t pick up on or appreciate this much detail in audio format. However, that hasn’t proved to be the case at all. Maybe my reservations about listening to fantasy on audio for fear of missing out on this are unfounded.


Fool’s Errand

I am both excited and really saddened to tell you that I finished Fool’s Errand by Robin Hobb last night. I shared in last week’s Sunday Summary that I was hoping to finish with this book this week. It’s been an excellent read, and I would say probably my favourite book in the Realm of the Elderlings series so far.

It’s not without its heartache though. Robin Hobb is excellent at tugging at the heartstrings. I feared something would happen in this book, and I was right. I’m not going to spoil it for anyone who hasn’t read it, but I confess I shed a few tears last night over it. It didn’t even matter that I expected it would happen. The way it was written was both beautiful and emotional.

I’m glad to be back with reading this series. I’ve also enjoyed being back in the world of Fitz and seeing where his story takes him next.  Arguably, I found this book the easiest to pick up and read out of the seven I’ve read so far. With the other books, the amount of detail and worldbuilding has meant that my progress has been quite slow. The writing is dense and there is a lot to take in, so consequently I’ve only been able to read in short bursts. I’ve not felt that way with Fool’s Errand at all. In fact, I sat and read 100 pages yesterday without really batting an eyelid.

I don’t think it’ll be too long before I pick up the next instalment in the series!


Shuggie Bain

Finally, the last book I have picked up and made progress with so far this week is Shuggie Bain by Douglas Stuart. I’m reading this book as part of our book club at work, which is meeting on the 29th of January.

So far I’m a little over 50 pages into the book so I’m only really just getting introduced to the setting and characters. Although I’m quite early into the book, it’s already an emotional rollercoaster. I’ve laughed at crass comments from matriarchal Glaswegian women, yet equally read through characters enduring domestic abuse and suffering from poor mental health.

My feeling is that this narrative is going to take us into some of the darker sides of society and in particular, watch how that colours the lives of specific characters. I’m going to continue reading this more in the next week or so. Then I’ll be able to tell you more in next week’s Sunday Summary update.


Books Discovered

My wallet has been molested this week, but not for all the books I’ve added to my list since my last Sunday Summary update. I read an article on upcoming releases this year that gave me some book recommendations. These I’ve added, but not purchased yet.

The first of these books is a fiction narrative which explores how life can change depending on very small variables. In this particular case, the variable is the name they were given at birth.

Secondly, I discovered Adam Kay is releasing another book this year. Having enjoyed his non-fiction recount of his life as a junior doctor, I want to read more of his writing. So, I have added A Particularly Nasty Case to my TBR.

Lastly, with my goal of reading out of my comfort zone this year, I’m picking up something I have never read before. In this BBC article, I discovered that a Ukrainian writer took on the role of a war crime researcher after the start of the war with Russia. She has since tragically lost her life in the war, but her works have come together and are being published in Looking at Women Looking at War: A War and Justice Diary.

I was doing pretty well, until I went into Waterstones “for a look” this afternoon. That’s where I fell off the wagon. Two of the books I bought are already on my TBR (The Anxious Generation and This Book May Save Your Life). In addition, I also bought and added Ultra-Processed People, A Man Called Ove, and The Earth Transformed.


Coming Up…

As much as I enjoyed putting out the extra content last week, I can’t do it every week. I might do it a bit more often. However, next week I’ll be putting out my usual three posts.

Firstly, I plan to share a book review with you. Next on the list is ironically another Hobb book. Ship of Magic is the first book of the Liveship Trader trilogy, and book four of the wider Realm of the Elderling series. I’m looking forward to sharing my thoughts on it in the next few days.

On Friday, I’m back with another First Lines Friday post. I’m setting myself a challenge this week. Although I haven’t read any of the intros to the books I bought today, I have to share one of them in that post!

Lastly, next Sunday I’ll share another Sunday Summary post. As always, I’ll update you on my current reads, as well as upcoming posts and other bookish updates. I hope to see you there!

Otherwise, that’s enough from me. Thanks for catching up with me in this Sunday Summary.

What is the title of the last book you bought?

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Monthly TBR – January 2025

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Today’s first monthly TBR of 2025 comes to you with the whiff of a fresh start still in the air. My reading goals are still new and shiny…

Okay, enough of the pretentious rubbish!

Welcome to my first monthly TBR of the year. I’m excited to share my planned reads for January. I’m hoping to kick-start the year with some solid 5* reads and some ticks in the ol’ reading goal boxes. Start as we mean to go on, right?

The first two books on this list are carryovers from 2024. I picked these up in the hopes they’d see me right into 2025 and get me hyped for more great books. From there, I plan to pick up book club’s choice for January and some highly anticipated reads.

Shall we take a look?


Fixed Reads


The Priory of the Orange Tree


My first carryover from December is my audiobook listen of The Priory of the Orange Tree by Samantha Shannon.

It’s been a good while since I listened to fantasy in audiobook format. Despite my reservations about retaining detail given the format of the book, I’m doing pretty well. I suspect it helped that I picked up this audio at a time when I could really dedicate some time to getting introduced to the world and the narrative. Usually, I’m piecemeal with picking up audiobooks. However, I had some time off around Christmas last year and I made the most of it!

As of this monthly TBR post, I have just 7 hours of audio left. This book is nearly 26 hours long, so I’m really getting to the conclusion anyway. I think that’ll help motivate my towards this very close finish!


Fool’s Errand



My second carryover is Fool’s Errand by Robin Hobb. This book was my only physical read at the end of the year. It was also a mood read I picked up in the final days of December. Knowing I wanted a pretty much guaranteed 5 star read to start 2025 with, Fool’s Errand made logical sense.

Fool’s Errand is living up to its predecessors in the wider series. I’m really enjoying being back in the world of Fitz. He’s one of my favourite characters so far. Although things have moved on a little since the first trilogy, I’m also loving the familiar surroundings.

As of this monthly TBR post, I’m 400 pages into the book. With less than 200 pages left to completion, I’m again hoping this spurs me into action and another finish.


Shuggie Bain


Next, my plan is to pick up our book club pick, Shuggie Bain by Douglas Stuart. We meet on the 29th January, but I don’t want this to be a last minute read. 

To my mind, Shuggie Bain falls into my goal of reading out of my comfort zone. I don’t think it’s a book I’d have discovered and read of my own volition. However, that’s exactly why being part of a book club is valuable. It exposes me to new books and ideas.

To my knowledge, this book addresses a number of social issues. I’m looking forward to seeing what those are and being able to discuss those with our group. When I first put feelers out for members, I thought I might have to be a bit more involved in leading discussions. That’s proven not to be the case at all, which is a bonus. It also means we can dig into topics like this quite easily.


Mood Reads


A Darkness at Sethanon


Whilst finishing series is hot on my resolutions radar, my first intended mood read on this monthly TBR is the final instalment to The Riftwar Saga. I started with Magician back in 2017. It’s been a series I’ve picked up sporadically, so I’m going to have to remind myself on events of the prior books before I jump into this last one.

It’ll be good to give myself a check mark on the completion of series goal nice and early. This one can’t be taken off me later, as the series is published in full.


Firefight

Another series progression pick, although not yet a completion, is Brandon Sanderson’s The Reckoners series.

I first read Steelheart in 2020, but unlike The Riftwar Saga I have a decent recollection of what’s happened so far. No refreshers needed here!

Firefight is the second part of a trilogy. Reading Firefight will then enable me to pick up the last instalment in the near future, and that will be another completion.

I always look forward to picking up more Brandon Sanderson books. It made sense to add one to my first monthly TBR of the year to hype myself up. He’s such a diverse fantasy author; how he’s managed to write so many books in the genre (and overlapping others), all with their own magic systems and rules, amazes me. It’s what I look forward to when reading his books.

What else can he come up with?


Rose Under Fire

In my Top Ten Tuesday – Winter TBR post, I shared that I wanted to read Rose Under Fire. Again, this is another book that’s part of a series. However, I don’t believe these books tie together in the same way that a traditional series does. Each has their own main characters, but there are overlaps.

I loved Code Name Verity, another book in this series. It was the perfect introduction to Elizabeth Wein’s writing. Verity was a character I could get behind even before we got to see all aspects of her. Now, I’m intrigued to read other historical stories! Whilst I’m not so fussed on the sound of The Pearl Thief (book 3), I may be inclined to read book 4 (The Enigma) if I enjoy Rose Under Fire as much!

We’ll have to see… 


The Bone Collector

The last book to feature in this monthly TBR is technically part of a series. However, it’s not one I’ve already started and I intend to read the book as a standalone.

The Bone Collector has been on my TBR for a long time! Of the 211 books on my TBR right now, there are only 12 books that have been on it longer. Even then, some of those only stand as they haven’t been published yet…

I enjoyed watching a TV series featuring the events of this first book a few years ago. It’ll be exciting to see if the book is even better. I hope so!


Summary

This monthly TBR is AMBITIOUS. But, it’s a new year and I’m excited to get reading. Plus, it’s cold and miserable in January. What else have I got to be doing?

Thanks for reading today’s monthly TBR. Are you planning to pick up any particular reads in January?

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Sunday Summary – 25th February 2024

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I’m back with my usual Sunday Summary update, and I’m looking forward to sharing what I’ve been up to this week! As always, I hope you’ve had a great one?

This week has been more chilled out than last, so I have more in the way of reading updates to catch you up on very shortly. First, let’s take a look at the blog posts I’ve shared so far this week.

My first post of the week was a Top Ten Tuesday post. In that post, I explored some of the fun superpowers I wish I had to help me along with my bookish endeavours. From infinite storage space to being able to remember every minute detail about books, I had a lot of fun thinking about this post. The content is a bit more whimsical than I’ve been posting of late and it was great fun to draft. If you haven’t checked out that post yet, as usual, I’ll provide a link to that here.

My next post was a Shelf Control feature. This is the third post I have shared of its kind so far this year, and once again I have shared a historical non-fiction with you. I obviously went through a flurry of adding these to my reading list! Although they are the same genre, each of the three books I have featured so far are all from different time periods. This week’s feature post explores history of Tudor England. It’s a short book, but when I’m looking forward to reading to refresh my knowledge on a topic I already know I love.

 

Books Read

 

The Queen’s Gambit

I left off from last week’s Sunday Summary post in between books. After some debate, I decided to pick up my Instagram poll pick runner-up next, being The Queen’s Gambit by Walter Tevis.

I added this book to my reading list after watching the Netflix series several years ago. I already knew what to expect in terms of the storyline and characterisation. The time between watching the TV show and picking up this book has probably helped negate any real comparison between the two as it wasn’t too fresh in my mind. I was still able to enjoy the story without overthinking how it compared with the Netflix show.

The Queen’s Gambit is a relatively short book, and I read this in its entirety this week. I rated the book four stars as I enjoyed the storyline, characterisation and flow of the plot. Whilst I have some basic understanding of chess and how to play, this prior knowledge isn’t especially needed to be able to understand the book. If that’s something that worries you, don’t let that put you off!

 

Hogfather

Next, I picked up what is my current read as of this Sunday Summary post. I only started this book yesterday, but already I have read 37%.

Hogfather has a really approachable narrative and is generally a bit of fun. I wish I’d had the foresight to check when this was coming up in the series, as I’d have read it in December if I’d known it was next. Hogfather is part of the Death miniseries within Discworld, and pokes fun at the concept of Father Christmas and belief.

I’m really enjoying the book so far, and given that I’ve managed to read about 160 odd pages in 24 hours, I can’t imagine I will be too long reading this book. In any case, it’s a digital loan from my library so I’ll have to get my skates on.

 

The Atlas Six

Finally, I have started listening to The Atlas Six again this week. As usually happens with me, I have let progress in audiobooks fall by the wayside in the last few weeks. However, I’ve had the motivation to start listening again this week, and I’m glad I have. I’m still not very far into the narrative, but I’m intrigued by the characters and where events in the book are going to take us.

This week, I listened to about two hours of the audio. Whilst it’s not a huge amount, it is a start considering it has been nearly 3 weeks since I last picked this up. Now that I am back into the story and the characters, I’m going to look to find more opportunities to listen whenever and wherever I can!

 

Books Discovered

Remember last week I shared that I got some book vouchers for my birthday? Well, I may have spent some of them this week 😇

I picked up quite the range of books this week. From cyborg assassins (Lifelik3) to biology (The Song of the Cell), it’s fair to say I’ve got quite the range in reading taste!

In addition to these, I picked up a couple more non-fiction books – The Survivor and Normal Women. Whilst Normal Women wasn’t officially on my TBR, it has been on my radar. You may recall that I featured a podcast from Philippa Gregory of the same name in my Well, I Didn’t Know That! series. This podcast features research that contributed towards the book, and I really enjoyed listening to the particular episode I shared. I was aware the book was coming out soon, but I confess that it had escaped my notice that it was out already. I happened to see a copy of it just as I was turning to pay for the others I picked up. I’m glad I spotted it last minute, and I eagerly grabbed a copy!

 

Coming Up…

Usual scheduling will be put on hold this week as we are already at the end of February. Where on earth has the time gone?

My first post of the week will be a Discussion Post. In this post, I’ll share how my reading tastes have changed over time. I plan to cover my reading tastes from my teenage years onwards, so that’s quite a time span to cover!

On Friday I’ll share my Monthly Wrap Up for February. Overall, I’ve read less books this month than I have for a while. It shouldn’t be a particularly long post, but I’m doing my best to fit in as much reading before then as I can! Maybe I’ll surprise myself?

As always, I’ll round up the week with another Sunday Summary update for you at the same time next week!

Until the next post, that is all from me. What are you reading right now? Do you have any recommendations for me?

 

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