Tag: Fiction

Setting A Reading Goal Can Boost Your Reading!

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As we are coming to the end of 2022, it is only natural that you may be thinking about the year ahead and about setting a reading goal. Are you the kind of person to set yourself a challenge? Do you prefer to go with the flow? These are important things to know about yourself in order to manage your motivation.

With this discussion post, there is no right or wrong answer. On the contrary, it is all about understanding what is best for you! I hope this post helps you to consider what works best for you.

 

Like having a goal to aim for? Set yourself a reading challenge!

At the beginning of the year, I usually set myself a reading challenge. In the history of my blog, there is one exception to that rule, and that was an exceptional time. Even then, I don’t think my choice of not setting a goal helped me in the long run. It felt good at the time because I felt liberated. Unfettered. Free of expectation. However, as the year went on, I effectively allowed the status quo to continue, even when I had the capacity to get back into reading more. I had lost the habit of picking up a book. 

I like having a goal to work towards. It is funny – my blog and my reading are the only facets in my life in which I really set myself goals (outside of work anyway). Otherwise, I am very laissez-faire. However, as proven to myself during the year in which I didn’t set myself a reading goal, I need one. It doesn’t necessarily have to be an ambitious goal to motivate me. But, having a number to work towards effectively helps me schedule my time and manage expectations. The year I didn’t set a number was my ‘worst’ by far. Compare my 2020 wrap-up with my 2021 wrap-up post and you will see what I mean. 

I recently watched a short motivational video about writing a book, but the underlying principle is the same. The lesson stuck with me. The speaker was talking about how people will take as long as they allow themselves to complete a job. For example, if you give yourself three months to complete a task, you will use the whole three months to do it. If you give yourself a week, you’ll do the exact same task in a week. It’s a psychological mindset thing.

For some people, not setting yourself a goal and effectively having a timeless task can be detrimental. In 2021, I didn’t set myself a reading goal, but I fully envisaged that I would still read the same amount. It probably won’t shock you that I didn’t. As soon as I started setting goals again, I got back on track. 

 

Want to maintain a habit?

Setting a goal doesn’t have to be setting yourself a challenge. If you comfortably read 20 books a year, you could set yourself a goal to effectively maintain that standard. 

For example, one of the goals I am considering setting myself next year relates to maintaining the habit of reading every day. It doesn’t have to be for very long, and this is not a difficult goal to achieve. It’s not meant to be.

Even if you set out to read a chapter every day, or for just 10 minutes… it all adds up. My reading habit and my blog wouldn’t be here today if not for a change in my lifestyle in 2017. That change resulted in my picking up a book before bed every night. Initially, it was only a temporary arrangement as a result of circumstance. I started taking a book to bed to read for half an hour. Even after my circumstances returned to normal, I continued to read before bed. By the end of April, I’d read 20 books – more than I had read in the last several years combined. That is how reading became a habit for me. 

Setting yourself a goal if this type means that whatever it is you are trying to do is important to you. However, it can also help promote a healthy balance. I have found in my experience that after reading too much, my other hobbies suffer. In the end, my reading suffers because I over-compensate for not doing other things by doing just the other things.

 

Maybe goals just aren’t for you

I’m not going to say that setting a reading goal suits everybody. I’m sure it doesn’t! Just because I don’t categorise myself as one of these people, it doesn’t mean that you don’t exist. If you don’t like having a reading goal, that is entirely up to you. It is perfectly okay to enjoy a hobby with no strings or obligations attached.

If you are the kind of person who doesn’t set reading goals, I’d love to hear from you. I’m not going to profess that this works for me and that I understand this approach. I proved that the year I didn’t set any reading goals for myself.

If you don’t set yourself reading goals, is there anything else you do instead? I’d love to hear from you to add to the conversation! 

Have you set yourself a reading goal? Do you have a reading goal for 2023?

 

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Sunday Summary – 4th December 2022

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

It is now officially December and Christmas is on the way! Up until yesterday, I wasn’t really feeling it. However, after a good laugh on Saturday with some friends looking around Christmas markets, then Christmas wreath making, and finally ice-skating, I am now in the mood!

Things have been no less busy on my blog. On Thursday this week, I shared my monthly wrap-up post for November. As I always do in these posts, I discussed the books I read throughout November and my thoughts on each of these. If you haven’t had the opportunity to check out this post yet, you can find the link above for your convenience.

Yesterday, I shared my final TBR of 2022. It has been a crazy year and already I have surpassed my expectations and reading goals for the year. However, that doesn’t mean I’m taking my foot off the pedal. Instead, I trying to read 50 books by the end of the year. Wish me luck! If you want to see which books I’m picking up to make that goal, there’s a link above to do so.

 

Books Read

As of my last Sunday Summary update, I was just under halfway through my read of The Motivation Code.

This was a really interesting read. Not only did it give me the opportunity to learn more about myself and what motivates me, but also helped me to recognise what other people’s motivations might be. Whilst that may not seem that relevant, I think it will be helpful in terms of being more open-minded about how and why other people work differently. Not only that, but if I’m ever in a situation where I need to persuade somebody to do something, I can try to appeal to their motivations.

The Motivation Code is a relatively short read, and if you are interested in understanding psychology or even in a management position, this could be an insightful read.

Next, I moved on to the first book of my December TBR – Daughter of the Moon Goddess by Sue Lynn Tan. I have decided to pick up this book as I have recently joined an online book club hosted by @ezeekat on Fable. It is also a book I have seen online and it has caught my eye previously. I thought this was the perfect opportunity to have a go at reading something a little bit different and to take part in the book club and see if this is something I’d like to do more of.

As of drafting this post, I am just under 20% through this book. It is a solid start and it has captured my attention very well. I can already tell there’s going to be a budding romance in here that may or may not affect my overall perception/enjoyment of the book depending on how well it’s written. However, I’m prepared to go into this open-minded for now and see what happens.

 

Books Discovered

Do you know what happens when I have several weeks of not adding any books to my TBR? I then have a week where I add several. And that is the story for today’s Sunday Summary.

The first book added to my TBR this week is called The Measure. I heard about this book through the Currently Reading Podcast. In essence, it is a speculative fiction that revolves around everybody over a certain age waking up to a box on their doorstep. In that box there is a piece of string; the length of which is how long you will live. I thought this was a really interesting plot line, and the description of the book on that podcast really caught my attention. So, I’d like to pick this one up for myself.

The second book added to my reading list this week was The Burning Girls by C.J. Tudor. I confess that I don’t know very much about the synopsis of this book. I added it because it was written by C.J. Tudor. To date, I have read both The Chalk Man and The Taking of Annie Thorne. Both books were major hits for me and so I have high expectations for The Burning Girls.

The last book I added to my TBR is a psychological thriller called The Murder Box. When a detective receives a murder mystery game as a birthday present, it turns out to be anything but fun. The details are strikingly similar to that of a missing young person, and so sparks an investigation which has Frankie asking the question – what happens when she discovers the killer?

I really like the sound of this. Having read another psychological thriller recently, it’s at the forefront of my mind how much I enjoy the genre. So, I can’t wait to get round to this relatively short thriller.

 

Coming Up…

I have a couple of blog posts lined up for you next week that I can’t wait to share!

My first blog post of the week is a discussion post. As we are approaching the end of the year, I wanted to take a look at why there may be benefits to setting a reading goal ahead of the New Year. You will see in this post, setting a reading goal doesn’t have to be a challenge. 

Later in the week, I am going to be sharing a First Lines Friday post. As usual, I will be sharing the opening lines of a book of my choice and discussing with you why they appeal to me!

Then, I will be back as usual with another Sunday Summary update to round up the week.

I hope you can join me for those posts. In the meantime, tell me what your most recent read was.

 

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Sunday Summary – 27th November 2022

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Good evening and welcome to my regular weekly update post, otherwise known as the Sunday Summary! It’s my opportunity to recap what I have shared on my blog throughout the week, as well as the books I’ve been reading. Later on in the post, you can also find out what I will be sharing on my blog in the next week – so stay tuned in for that!

But first, let’s recap the week just gone. My first blog post of the week was a review of Red Rising by Pierce Brown. I really enjoyed this science-fiction/dystopian fiction novel. It is the first book of the series, which I started this year.

Red Rising was a massive hit, as you will see in that review. I have already read the second book of the series and that one didn’t quite live up to expectations. Pierce Brown set the bar really high with Red Rising… maybe a bit too high? I’m going to continue with the series, but if you want to see where it all starts, I strongly recommend you check out my review.

On Friday I shared a Shelf Control post. Shelf Control is a roughly fortnightly feature on my blog. It is an opportunity to take a look at books I added to my TBR in the past and make sure they are still relevant to my current reading taste. Sharing why I’m excited about these books makes for great blog material. Who knows, maybe I can just make you a little bit excited about it too?

This week, I featured a non-fiction novel that I added to my TBR in 2017, having played the original Assassin’s Creed game. That probably sounds like a very bizarre introduction to the book, but the book itself is about a faction that plays a significant role in the storyline. It is a time and place in history I have never explored before, and I’m keen to find out more!

 

Books Read

Dear Child

In last week’s Sunday Summary post, I left off having read 10% of the book Dear Child by Romy Hausmann. I read that 10% last Sunday morning, and I was already excited about the book based on that introduction. I ended up really enjoying Dear Child just as much!

It has been a while since I read a psychological thriller or a book of that ilk. That’s why I wanted to read one if I’m honest. I enjoy switching up genres now and then. I wanted to get around to reading something like this in October, but I didn’t finish my TBR in time to do so. So, I picked this one up this month instead, and it was fantastic! As with all good psychological thrillers with an element of mystery, it has you thinking about the book, characters, and potential motives even when it’s physically not in your hand.

Dear Child is even more impressive as it is the author’s debut novel. It read really well, and the fact that I had finished all 350 odd pages by Thursday testifies just how easy to read it was!

After finishing Dear Child, I was in a very indecisive mood as to what to read next. It has been a long time since I’ve actually finished a reading list, so it was unusual not to have an idea of what I wanted to pick up next. This resulted in my picking up quite a few books off my shelf, reading the synopsis, and then putting them back down again. I had no idea what I wanted to read – and I was almost in a bit of a funk about it. However, I eventually decided to take a look at a recent non-fiction addition to my reading list. It was a good decision. 

 

The Motivation Code

I recently discovered an assessment online called The Motivation Code. The test has been devised by psychologists as a means of identifying an individual’s top three personal motivators. In summary, the test involves a degree of analysing some distinct, memorable achievements. It takes between 20 and 30 minutes to complete, and after that, you can take a look at either a purchasable assessment or The Motivation Code book, which I am doing. If you are interested, my top 3 motivators out of the possible 27 are collaborate, explore, and develop.

I was initially surprised by my top motivation, but having read the insights in the book, I can completely understand this now. I do like to feel like part of the team and I am most energised when the team is harmonious.

So far I have only read up on the first of these three of my motivators, collaborate, because I have been reading about the rest too. In reading some of the others so far, I have already been able to recognise and understand how other people around me work differently. For that reason, I am already finding it insightful – and I’m only 45% through at the moment! I trust that the rest of the book is going to be as helpful as it has been so far. It is also a really easy and relatively short read at 270ish pages.

 

Books Discovered

I would love to be able to update you and say that the reading list is going in the right direction – so I will! With ticking off Dear Child, and progress with The Motivation Code (both books on my TBR), the net position at the end of this week is still in the negative.

What I’m trying to say is I’ve added one book to my reading list this week. Having recently loved R. F. Kuang’s book Babel, I have decided to add another fantasy series she wrote to my reading list. I’m only starting with the first book so far, The Poppy War. If I enjoy this as much as I enjoy Babel, I can guarantee the rest of the books will be going on my list! But, we’ll see what the first book looks like before I get too hasty.

 

Coming Up…

Next week we will be saying goodbye to November and launching ourselves into the final month of the year. Is that not a scary thought?

With that in mind, I will be sharing my monthly wrap-up for November on Thursday and following up with my December monthly TBR on Saturday! I always enjoy writing these posts. It’s fun to talk/reminisce about books I have enjoyed in a month, but also look forward to my next reads! I hope you can stick with me for my November round-up and my December TBR.

Unsurprisingly, I will be back as I always am this time next week with my next Sunday Summary update to post. I hope you can stick with the blog to check those posts out. In the meantime, have a fantastic week whatever you’re up to!

Have you read any amazing books recently?

 

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Sunday Summary – 20th November 2022

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Hello, hello – welcome to this week’s Sunday Summary update post. I hope you have had a fantastic week because I’m really excited to tell you about this week’s progress. Personally, it has been a good and productive one!

At the beginning of the week, I shared my review of Warrior of Mercia by MJ Porter. It was a pleasure to take part in this blog tour, as I have done so for the first two books of the series as well! This book lived up to every single one of my expectations. If there are further books in the series, I will be jumping on the bandwagon very quickly!

Later in the week, I shared a First Lines Friday post. I will hold my hands up here and say I made a bit of a boo-boo. I forgot to schedule this post in advance. The post was sat in my notes and ready to be edited and scheduled, but I just hadn’t done that bit. As a result, I shared it on Friday night after I’d noticed my error. Apologies if you were looking out for it earlier in the day.

 

Books Read

Babel

This week I made fantastic reading progress with Babel by R.F. Kuang. Ironically, I was partly motivated to read this book because I was excited to pick up my next read… one that I ended up DNF’ing quite quickly. More on that one in a moment. In my last Sunday Summary update, I was 172 pages into Babel. 

It was good to finally pick up Babel and stick with it. Because I have been juggling commitments with blog tours of late, I have been picking up and putting this book down quite a bit. Now that I had no further commitments, I was able to dedicate the due time and attention Babel deserved – and boy, did it deserve it! The fact that I read the remaining 370 odd pages in just a handful of days testifies how much I enjoyed this read. It is the kind of book that has you thinking about it even when you’re not actively reading it.

What I found refreshing about Babel is that it doesn’t read that strongly as a fiction novel. It is quite academic in tone. As someone who was interested in language and linguistics growing up, I enjoyed the little translation references dotted throughout. This book also has a reference to the Manx language in it, which surprised me! Even locally, it is only thought that about 2% of the population of the island is fluent in it. I know some passing phrases such as good morning (moghrey mie) and good evening (fastyr mie), but that’s about all.

 

Malice

Next, I picked up the book I have been really excited to read – Malice by John Gwynne. I have shared details about this book on my blog of late, particularly commenting on how long it has been on my reading list, and that it is probably the oldest book on my TBR.

Not anymore. I spent about three days struggling through the first 40 pages. When you compare that with my reading average earlier in the week of nearly 100 pages a day, that’s dreadful. The introduction to this book just didn’t grab me at all. When I first picked up this book many moons ago (before I started my blog), I only made it to chapter three. My perception can’t have been much better, because I put it down then as well.

I’m enjoying a really good reading streak at the moment, and I fear that if I try to struggle with Malice, I will lose it. Instead, I decided to DNF this book for good and swiftly moved on to the next (and last physical) book on my November reading list.

 

Dear Child

I started Dear Child quite late this morning, and I’m already 10% through the book. The introduction captured my attention immediately. I’m interested to learn about the dynamic of the characters and how events have come to pass to date. There’s not much to say about this particular book at this time, because I have only spent around 30 to 40 minutes reading it so far. I look forward to sharing a further update with you next week!

 

Books Discovered

Once again, no news is good news! With the reading progress I’ve made, I have effectively ticked a couple off of my reading list, and there are no new additions. The list is going in the right direction for once!

 

Coming Up…

Early next week, I have decided to share another book review with you. As I have quite a long list of books I have read, but not yet reviewed, I decided to knock one of those off the list. The book I am featuring next week is Red Rising by Pierce Brown. If you enjoy the science-fiction and/or dystopia genres, I strongly recommend checking out my review on Tuesday!

Later in the week, it is the turn of my Shelf Control regular feature post. This week’s feature is a bit of a funny one. I decided to add this book to my reading list as a result of playing the original Assassin’s Creed game as a teenager – I wanted to learn more about the facts behind some of the characters. If you are intrigued, then stick around and check out my post on Friday.

As always, I will be back next Sunday evening to share my reading progress with you in my next Sunday Summary post!

Until next time, have a wonderful week!

 

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First Lines Friday – 18/11/2022

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Hello all welcome to today’s First Lines Friday post! It’s the end of another working week! If you are counting down the hours until the weekend, then I hope I can distract you with a fun introduction to a book I’m looking forward to picking up. Maybe I can inspire you to pick it up this weekend?

In today’s First Lines Friday post, I decided to repeat my method of choosing today’s featured book as I did last time. To recap, I went to my Goodreads homepage and looked through the books on my feed until a familiar author or title caught my eye. Whereas in my last post, I stumbled across my feature quite quickly, this wasn’t the case this time. A little bit of scrolling later, however, a Goodreads friend of mine published a status update about a book she is re-reading, that is also on my TBR.

Here is today’s teaser introduction!

 

Perhaps it was a tired thing, all the references the world had already made to the Ptolemaic Royal library of Alexandria. History had proven the library to be endlessly fascinating as a subject, either because the obsession with what it might have contained was bound only by the imagination or because humanity longs for things most ardently as a collective. All men can love a forbidden thing, generally speaking, and in most cases knowledge is precisely that; lost knowledge, even more so.

 

 

The Atlas Six – Olivie Blake

Genre: Fantasy

Pages: 383

Audience: Young Adult

Publisher: Tor

Publication Date: 31 Jan 2015

 

 

Goodreads – The Atlas Six

The Alexandrian Society is a secret society of magical academicians, the best in the world. Their members are caretakers of lost knowledge from the greatest civilizations of antiquity. And those who earn a place among their number will secure a life of wealth, power, and prestige beyond their wildest dreams. Each decade, the world’s six most uniquely talented magicians are selected for initiation – and here are the chosen few…

– Libby Rhodes and Nicolás Ferrer de Varona: inseparable enemies, cosmologists who can control matter with their minds.

– Reina Mori: a naturalist who can speak the language of life itself.

– Parisa Kamali: a mind reader whose powers of seduction are unmatched.

– Tristan Caine: the son of a crime kingpin who can see the secrets of the universe.

– Callum Nova: an insanely rich pretty boy who could bring about the end of the world. He need only ask.

When the candidates are recruited by the mysterious Atlas Blakely, they are told they must spend one year together to qualify for initiation. During this time, they will be permitted access to the Society’s archives and judged on their contributions to arcane areas of knowledge. Five, they are told, will be initiated. One will be eliminated. If they can prove themselves to be the best, they will survive. Most of them.

 

My Thoughts…

Sharing this particular book as part of today’s First Lines Friday post may be quite timely. If you aren’t following this particular book or author, then you might not know that the sequel, The Atlas Paradox, was released at the end of last month.

I only discovered The Atlas Six fairly recently. It is one of the most recent books on my TBR, so it’s unlikely that I will be reading this any time soon! However, that’s not to say I am not excited to give it a go.

What interests me about this particular book is that it was initially self-published by the author. It has done so well that Tor has since signed the author and from there, it has been ‘traditionally published’.

If that doesn’t speak volumes, then I don’t know what will. I discovered this book through a fellow blogger (incidentally, the same Goodreads friend re-reading this at the moment). I believe she first read this whilst the book was self-published, and by all accounts, is enjoying her re-read right now.

I’ve just enjoyed another book with similar dark academia vibes. Throwing in some magic to the mix can only make this better in my opinion!

I hope you’ve enjoyed today’s First Lines Friday post. Have you read The Atlas Six, or the sequel, The Atlas Paradox? I’d love to chat about them if you have!

 

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Sunday Summary – 13th November 2022

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Good evening and welcome to another Sunday Summary update! This week I’ve been busy reading and preparing for yet another blog tour, at the same time as having a busy working week. I’ve also been fitting in more TV time than usual as I’m currently watching I’m A Celebrity, Get Me Out of Here! I don’t normally tend to watch much television during the week, so I’ve had to make a conscious effort to fit this in. I didn’t watch the last two series set in the UK; I’m glad to see it finally back in Australia.

Aside from all that, I have shared my typical two blog posts with you this week.

On Tuesday, I decided to take part in the Top Ten Tuesday post of the week. For that post, we had the decision to feature our top ten books as part of a series we would like to begin, continue with, or finish. Given that I need absolutely no help in starting new series, I put the emphasis on those I would like to finish. The thought process here was that it will inspire me to pick up those that I am close to the end of. Therefore it would result in a reduction of my ‘ongoing list’. I feature some fantastic series in this post and already have some I’d like to read soon!

Later in the week, I shared my Shelf Control regular feature post. This month I seem to be featuring a lot of historical fiction novels, and this post is no exception. I will admit I made a bit of a gaff when I bought this book. I didn’t realise it was part of a series! That said, I’m still going to read the book anyway and I will base my decision of going backward based on whether I enjoy the last book or not! If you want to find out which book I’m talking about, you can find a link to that post above.

 

Books Read

In last week’s Sunday Summary post, I was up to page 154 of Babel by R.F. Kuang. I had to set the book aside the week prior in order to read another book ahead of a blog tour post. This week, I had a small window in which to make a little more progress, before I had to put this down once again for another commitment. On Sunday night I read another chapter of Babel, taking me up to chapter 10, 172 pages in.

My next commitment was reading Warrior of Mercia by M.J. Porter. If that name rings any bells with you, it may be because I read the first two books in her Eagle of Mercia series earlier this year. When I saw the advertisement for this tour, I knew I wanted to continue with the series and the unique perspective we get in these books.

And this book didn’t disappoint. The main character is unique in that he does not relish his role as a warrior. If given the choice, he is a man who chooses to heal rather than hurt. However, the progression we have seen in his books relates to his acknowledging that he has a part to play in both roles.

I’ve been reading Warrior of Mercia for most of this week, finishing the book last night. I enjoyed this every bit as much as I expected, and I can’t wait to share my imminent review with you!

I was hoping to have gone back to Babel again before the end of the week, however that hasn’t panned out. Now I have no more interruptions, so this will be my main read for next week. I’m keen to move on as I’m looking forward to picking up another book on my November TBR. I saw a TikTok video/review of this particular book yesterday. It suggests that Malice by John Gwynne is very like A Game of Thrones. It is also been on my reading list for a very long time, so I want to jump in and make a start. Rather than allowing myself to “pick up the two at once”, (I will not read both at the same time) I’m going to make myself finish Babel first.

What also hasn’t worked out this week is listening to more of Queen of Our Times by Robert Hardman. I’ve had the opportunity, I just haven’t taken it up. I need to make more of an effort to make this a habit, and that is my aim for next week.

 

Books Discovered

Would you believe I walked into a bookshop today and didn’t purchase anything for myself? I wish to be showered in praise for the mighty accomplishment of discipline. It’s not something I normally have.

Mostly when it comes to food, but also books!

 

Coming Up…

My first blog post next week is my blog tour review of Warrior of Mercia by M.J. Porter. Typically I will try and prepare my blog posts a week in advance. But for obvious reasons, I haven’t been able to do so completely. As my tour post goes live on Tuesday, I’ll be finishing this off on Monday night and getting this ready to go live!

Later in the week, I will be sharing another regular feature. This time, it is the turn of my First Lines Friday post. I have tried something different in terms of book selection this week, and I hope it pays off!

Lastly, I’ll be back again this time next week with another Sunday Summary update for you. As usual, I’ll be talking about the books I’ve read and any added to my reading list (although hopefully none). Lastly, I’ll share details of what posts you can expect on the blog next week.

Until next time, have a fabulous week ahead!

 

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Top Ten Tuesday – Series I’d Like (Need) to Finish!

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In today’s Top Ten Tuesday post, I am sharing my top ten book series that I would like to finish. Scratch that – I NEED to finish!

The theme of this post could also have been book series that I would like to start or continue with. Now, I’m a bit embarrassed to admit how many books series I have ongoing. The ones that I have selected for today’s post are just a small handful from a very big pot. They are, however, the ones I have made the most significant progress in, or ones that I am heavily invested in and therefore more likely to finish sooner rather than later. At least, theoretically… 

I didn’t want to share a post about books from a new series that I would like to start. It would only fuel my desire to start even more. I certainly don’t need any help in that department!

I’m hoping that this post will serve as a personal reminder of some of the series I have ongoing, and help me get around to finishing them. Some of the series featured today can’t physically be completed at the moment. I am fully up-to-date with some of them, and I’m awaiting further books to be published. However, for the most part, they are ready and waiting to go. The only thing stopping me is me!

So, without further ado, let’s dive into today’s list: –

 

Mistborn

 

The Mistborn series is split into several parts. I read the first trilogy as a teenager, but finally came back to reading the second trilogy last year. It was great to revisit the series and the magic system that I came to enjoy when I was younger. It was a gamble to see if I was going to enjoy the books set in a slightly more advanced time period, however, it really worked in my opinion.

The final book of this series has been awaiting publication for quite some time. However, that last book is due to be published in November. So, since I only have one book left, and the events of the second series are fresh in my mind, I would like to start this sooner rather than later!

 

The Dark Tower

 

I started The Dark Tower series at a time when I wanted to try Stephen King, but wasn’t feeling quite confident enough to read horror. They proved to be a good introduction. However, to date, I’ve only read the first two books of the series.

I actually own all of the series, and most of it is up on my bookshelf, waiting to be read. According to Goodreads it has been three years since I picked up The Drawing of the Three, the second book of the series. I didn’t think it was quite that long ago since I last picked it up. It proves the point that I need to pull my finger out and start reading these more seriously.

 

Discworld

Reading my way through the Discworld series is going to be a project. I have already made a good deal of progress though. The series has a total of 41 primary works, and to date, I have already read 18 of those.

What I really like about these books is that the wider universe is split down into smaller series. So long as these individual series are read in order, everything will make sense. I have taken the decision to read all of the books in order, but the beauty is, you don’t have to! You don’t even have to read the entire thing. I have some preferred mini-series over others, such as the witches and death series. Whilst I wouldn’t let that stop me reading all of them, anyone has the flexibility of choosing not to read all of them if you don’t want to.

The books in themselves are also reasonably short and very lighthearted. One of Terry Pratchett’s skills is addressing important or difficult topics in a satirical manner. It may take some time to get through the whole series, but it is one that I can chip away at and read quite easily.

 

A Game of Thrones

This is one of the series on my list in which I physically can’t progress at the moment. To date, I have read the entire published works of the A Song of Ice and Fire series twice. There are two books remaining in the series, and I can’t wait for them to come out so I can finally read them!

Whilst talking about this, I’d like to take the opportunity to call out people making angry noises about George R.R. Martin and the series because they’re having to wait for the sequel. Yes, it has been a long time since he published the last book, A Dance of Dragons. However, you’d also complain if he turned the last two books out quickly and didn’t put the full thought and planning into them that makes them as good as they are. If he rushed it, and you thought it was crap, you would also complain. The man can’t win!

They’re his books, and he’ll publish them when he’s happy with them. Don’t hate on him, and certainly don’t give up on the series because you’re impatient. That’s just cutting off your nose to spite your face.

 

The Name of the Wind

The circumstances of The Name of the Wind are very much the same as George R.R. Martin and the A Song of Ice and Fire series. However, we are waiting on just one book to conclude this three-part series (The Slow Regard of Silent Things shown above is a companion novella to the main series, but it is one I have also read).

Again, we have been waiting for a while, and the author is getting a lot of hate for it. I reiterate my comments above. Patience is a virtue. 

 

Dune

Dune is a series I started at the beginning of this year. I was gifted the very first book of the series about five years ago, and it has taken me that long to start it.

To date, I have also read the second book of the series and own the third ready to pick up. It is an interesting series, and it is unique to my TBR in that it is probably the oldest in terms of publication date. I typically pick up more modern books, and in some ways, Dune shows its age in its portrayal of some of its characters. However, I can see it is a series of its time and I haven’t let that stopped me reading it.

There are a total of 8 books in this series, and I can’t wait to pick up the next one. And the next one… you get the drill. 

 

Rivers of London

It’s not very often I have an audiobook series that I’ve made decent progress on, but Rivers of London fits that bill.

I started this series back in 2020 and to date, I have listened to six of the nine primary works currently published. Of course, as with any popular series, there are novellas and side stories that I could delve into if I wanted. However, my priority is to work my way through the main series. I only have three books (as things stand currently), so I think it makes sense to try and get a shift on with these.

 

Saxon Stories

The Saxon Stories is a series by Bernard Cornwell with which I’ve made solid progress… but there’s more work to be done yet.

This is also a lengthy series, currently standing at 13 primary works (unlucky for some). I have read the first five books so far, and I think I’ve actually progressed with the storyline via the TV series beyond this point. That’s a rarity in itself, but I haven’t felt my enjoyment of the books wane or be affected as a result of watching it on TV first.

Having checked out when I read the last book, The Burning Land, I need to pick this series up again. It’s been two years since I made any progress on it. It is clearly a genre and setting I enjoy, because I have read books very recently set around the same period. Maybe I need to focus my efforts on continuing what I’ve already started…

But where’s the fun in that!

 

Skyward

Skyward is a series by Brandon Sanderson that I started just this year. It is the first young adult narrative of his that I have read, and I really enjoyed the first book of the series. The next book of the series is up on my bookshelf and begging to be read. I very nearly added it to my November TBR. Depending on how things go, and whether my mood changes, it may very well worm its way on. We’ll see.

 

Realm of the Elderlings

This last series is another I started this year. Do I sound like a stuck record yet? Maybe now you see my problem? I don’t regret starting this one, as much as I joke about my tendencies to over-commit. Robin Hobb is an author that a friend of mine has been recommending to me for a number of years, and now I see why. In just the latter half of this year, I have already read the first trilogy that makes up a wider 16-book series.

These books have been absolutely fantastic. I’m simultaneously looking forward to a change of setting in the next mini-series (the Live Ship Traders), but also to going back and re-visiting the same characters at a later date. Whereas I have allowed other series mentioned in this post to fall by the wayside, I don’t think that’s going to be the case with Realm of the Elderlings at all!

 

So, those are my top ten series that I really need to get on and finish, as well as airing some dirty laundry on my bad habits!

Have you started or finished any of these series? Are you like me in over-committing to too many series at once? As always, I’d like to have a chat in the comments or on social media.

 

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Sunday Summary – 6th November 2022

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Good evening readers and welcome to another regular Sunday Summary update!

Last week’s Sunday Summary post was a bit of a boring one – I had very little to report. I’m pleased to say that I have plenty more reading progress to share with you this week. Before we get into that though, let’s recap the blog posts I shared with you earlier this week.

On Tuesday, I shared my Monthly Wrap-Up post for October. Overall, I made a decent amount of reading progress. My first read of the month was the particularly chunky Assassin’s Quest by Robin Hobb. From there, I went on to pick up another couple of books in the month. If you want to find out what I read throughout October, you can do so with a link to my wrap-up post above.

On Thursday, I shared my Monthly TBR for November. In addition to that list, I’ve carried over my current read of Babel by R. F. Kuang. It is not the smallest of reading lists, but when are they ever? I’ve already made a solid start, and you’ll see why in just a moment! Again, if you want to check out that post, there’s a link above.

The reason I had to get a wriggle on with my first read of November because I shared my review of that book in yesterday’s blog tour post. Having had a bit of a slow month last month, I think it helped to have a deadline to get my first book read and done. I can only hope it has set the pace for the month! If you are a fan of historical fiction, and in particular, authors like Bernard Cornwell and Conn Iggulden, my blog tour review for Warrior and Protector is something you should check out!

 

Books Read

Babel

In last week’s Sunday Summary post, I shared measly reading progress of Babel by R. F. Kuang. I didn’t really define that progress in my post because I was a bit disappointed with it if I’m entirely honest. I decided to pick up the book again on Sunday night for one last push before I put the book aside to read Warrior and Protector. By the end of Sunday night, I was up to page 154. Over the course of the week, that was just 120 pages read. 

 

Warrior and Protector

From there, I moved on to Warrior and Protector by Peter Gibbons. As you now know, this was because I was sharing my review of the book for the blog tour yesterday. I really enjoyed this relatively short, palate-cleansing read. Historical fiction is a genre I go back to time and again. I have a love of the particular setting of this book from reading/watching The Last Kingdom and other books by other authors I have toured with. I signed up for the tour relatively last minute, to replace another blogger.

I’m really glad I stepped up for this one. I started this book at the beginning of the week and finished it early Friday night. At just over 300 pages, it is quite a short and fast-paced read – at least for me! The book was full of action and a lot more in the way of character development than you might expect from our main character, Beornoth. I enjoyed some of the overlaps and references to well-known characters of the period. It helped ground the story in a setting. I was already familiar with but offers a new and unique perspective.

Going forward, my intention is to pick up a Babel again for a couple more days before I set aside again for a second blog tour commitment. That tour is for a similar genre and book, so I want to pick up Babel again to give myself some separation between the two books. As at drafting this post, I am yet to do that, but my intention is to make some progress with it again tonight.

 

Queen of Our Times

I also have an audiobook update for you this week. It has been a little while since I put my headphones in, but today I started listening to Queen of Our Times by Robert Hardman. This book was originally on my October TBR. However, having had some issues with ordering a physical copy of the book, I canceled that order and instead downloaded the audiobook. Because I made this decision quite late on in the month, I didn’t get a chance to start listening to Queen of our times in October.

That is why I have added it to this month’s TBR. It also contributes to my goal of trying to read more non-fiction books. It is not very often that I read or listen to biographies. However, Queen Elizabeth II is such a poignant figure and I wanted to fill in the gaps in my knowledge about her and the Royal family.

This audiobook is 25 and a half hours long. It is not a small one by any means, but I have already chipped away at an hour and a half of listening time this morning. Now that I’ve started it, I’ll try and listen to a little bit of it every day, as much as I can. Even if it is just whilst commuting to and from work – it all adds up! Fingers crossed I’ll have another update on this in next week’s Sunday Summary! 

 

Books Discovered

I confess that I have added a book to my TBR this week, and it is all my sister’s boyfriend’s fault. I can totally blame him, right? It’s not my lack of control or anything…

On a serious note, he is currently reading Jonathan Strange and Mr Norrell by Susanna Clarke. When I spoke to them both on FaceTime this week, he recommended the book to me as he was really enjoying it. Having looked into it for myself, I can see this is something that I would enjoy as well.

It is a chunk of a book though. At just over 1000 pages, it is not a light addition to my reading list!

 

Coming Up…

Next week, I am back to my usual three-post schedule.

The first of those posts will be a Top Ten Tuesday post. This week’s theme is about book series. As somebody who has a lot of ongoing series at the moment, I have decided to share my list of series I would like to finish. I don’t need to talk myself into starting any more; I do a good enough job of that already! If you want to check out just a handful of the series I would like to finish, check out my post on Tuesday. And, as an additional note, if you would like me to share a separate post confessing all the ongoing series I have so you can laugh at my expense, let me know! 

Later in the week, I am back with a Shelf Control post. The feature of next week’s Shelf Control post is ironically also a series – although I didn’t realise this at the time I purchased a copy. I decided that I will pick up this historical fiction book anyway, then decide if I want to go back to the beginning based on my experience of that book. This is a new-to-me author, but the setting is one that I have read before.

As always, I will be back at the same time next week with another Sunday Summary post to share my reading progress with you. As has been the case this week, I will have a deadline that I’m working towards next week. So, I should have plenty to share with you in that post.

Tonight, my plans are to pick up Babel again briefly, before watching the first episode of I’m a Celebrity Get Me Out of Here before bed.

What are your plans?

 

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Sunday Summary – 30th October 2022

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Hello and welcome back to another Sunday Summary post. As always, I hope you have had a fabulous week, whatever you have been up to!

Personally, this week didn’t get off to the best of starts as I managed to catch some of the winter lurgy going around. Thankfully nothing too sinister, and it passed through quite quickly. Still, for a day or two, I wasn’t feeling too hot.

Regardless, life goes on. In terms of my blog, I shared two posts with you this week. The first of those posts was my Top Ten Tuesday Halloween-themed post. For that freebie, I decided to share my top recommendations for spooky reads this Halloween season.

Later in the week, I shared a First Lines Friday post with you. In that post, I took a spontaneous approach to choosing the book I featured. I decided to look at my Goodreads homepage until something caught my eye. I ended up featuring the first book of a series that is on my TBR. What makes this more exciting is that this second book is actually a follow-up to what was supposed to be a standalone novel. I really like the sound of this one, I can’t wait to get around to reading it!

 

Books Read

As of last week’s Sunday Summary post, I was 34 pages into Babel by R.F. Kuang.

Admittedly, I haven’t made a lot of progress with this one this week. I think it’s going to be a slow-burn book for me, based on what I’ve read so far. I am enjoying it, but it’s not a book that I can devour. To be fair, my experience may be coloured by the fact that I haven’t been feeling my best this week. If I’m not feeling great, I find my attention span is a lot shorter than usual. So, even though I have sat down and made attempts to read Babel several times over the course of the week, I didn’t get through much page count before I inevitably end up scrolling on social media.

I have also been working on some other bits and pieces this week. I’ve obviously been working on blog content, but I’ve also been enjoying some creative free time and working on some of my ongoing knitting projects. You’re an ideal world I might have listened to an audiobook at the same time. However, I was really in the mood for music… And so that’s what I listen to instead! 

All of this amounts to not much reading progress. it is perhaps a little disappointing, but I’m not going to be able to read lots all the time. I don’t feel too guilty, because Last week I read about 500 pages!

Going forward, I am going to make another attempt at further progress with Babel tonight before moving on to another book I am reading for a blog tour post next week. I’m hoping the change of pace and the deadline will help kick my butt into some action!

 

Books Discovered

No news is good news, so they say. I’ve been very good and haven’t added any new books to my reading list this week!

 

Coming Up…

Next week is going to be a fun one in terms of blog content. Somehow, we are already at the end of October. Inevitably, I will be sharing my month-end wrap-up on Tuesday. I haven’t made oodles of progress as yet this month, but I will be re-capping everything I have read, including further progress made today and tomorrow, in that post.

I am changing up the schedule slightly and sharing my November TBR on Thursday next week. As always, I am setting myself a slightly ambitious list, but it’s one I’m very excited to attempt to tackle. As in previous months, I have a smaller number of fixed reads on that list, together with some mood reads that I like the sound of now. However, I have the freedom to change those mood reads at a later date if I change my mind. I have found it a good balance in terms of managing reads I have to pick up, but also giving myself the flexibility to read other books on a whim. On November’s TBR, I have two fixed reads, and three mood reads.

The change of schedule is to accommodate a blog tour post that I will be sharing on Saturday. You’ll find out some more detail about the book in my November TBR on Thursday. By the time that post goes live, I hope to have made either significant reading progress or to have finished it. I bet it will be the former scenario, but I can hope for the latter. 

And lastly, I’ll be back at the same time next week with another Sunday Summary post. with any luck, I’ll be able to share a lot more reading progress in that Sunday Summary than I’ve been able to share in this one!

Now, I’m off to go and pick up Babel. What are you reading?

 

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First Lines Friday – 28/10/2022

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Hello all welcome to today’s First Lines Friday post! I hope you are having a lovely day to conclude the working week?

In today’s First Lines Friday post, I wanted to do something different in terms of my book selection. Sometimes I set myself a challenge for these posts, and today’s selection was along those lines. Rather than picking a book that I’ve been thinking about of late, I decided to let an element of randomisation in.

Instead, I decided to go to my Goodreads homepage and look through the books on my feed until something caught my eye. It didn’t take very long, as the fourth book I found is the sequel to another that I know is on my TBR. I decided to check out that first book rather than skipping it and going for the second (the book I actually saw), and then took a look at it for First Lines Friday potential. It did not disappoint.

Let’s check out today’s introduction!

 

There is so much blood.

Roger didn’t know there was this much blood in the human body. It seems impossible, ridiculous, a profligate waste of something that should be precious and rare — and most importantly, contained. This blood belongs inside the body where it began, and yet here it is, and here he is, and everything is going so wrong.

Dodger isn’t dead yet, despite the blood, despite everything. Her chest rises and falls in tiny hitches, barely visible to the eye. Each breath is a clear struggle, but she keeps fighting for the next one. She’s still breathing. She’s still bleeding.

 

 

Middlegame – Seanan McGuire

Genre: Fantasy

Pages: 492

Audience: Adult

Publisher: Tor

Publication Date: 07 May 2019

 

 

Goodreads – Middlegame

New York Times bestselling and Alex, Nebula, and Hugo-Award-winning author Seanan McGuire introduces readers to a world of amoral alchemy, shadowy organizations, and impossible cities in this standalone fantasy.

Meet Roger. Skilled with words, languages come easily to him. He instinctively understands how the world works through the power of story.

Meet Dodger, his twin. Numbers are her world, her obsession, her everything. All she understands, she does so through the power of math.

Roger and Dodger aren’t exactly human, though they don’t realise it. They aren’t exactly gods, either. Not entirely. Not yet.

Meet Reed, skilled in the alchemical arts like his progenitor before him. Reed created Dodger and her brother. He’s not their father. Not quite. But he has a plan: to raise the twins to the highest power, to ascend with them and claim their authority as his own.

Godhood is attainable. Pray it isn’t attained.

 

My Thoughts…

As you know, I am a big fan of fantasy. I’ve also been reading a lot more in the way of science fiction in recent years. One of the things that excites me about this book is that it seems to combine the two genres very well.

Middlegame has been on my TBR since May 2019 – pretty much since its publication. However, I haven’t gotten around to reading it as yet because my reading list is huge!

I can’t wait to finally get around to reading this one. Whilst the synopsis indicates it was originally published as a standalone novel, a second novel has since been published, which revolves around different characters. As to whether that book makes it to my TV or remains to be seen – I will see how I like middle game first. Based on the synopsis and the reviews I have read, I am pretty sure this is one I will enjoy!

Have you read Middlegame, or any other books by this author?

 

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