Tag: George R R Martin

First Lines Friday – 26/07/2024

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Happy Friday folks and welcome to the next instalment of my First Lines Friday series! In my Sunday Summary post last week, I set myself the challenge to feature a non-fiction book with you in this post. I think I found a great one! The introduction is exciting, and this book is on my Summer TBR so it helps psyche me up to read it soon.

Let’s take a look at today’s First Lines Friday feature, shall we?


Hundreds of men are screaming.

The armoured soldiers charge forward, howling with rage, their swords and shields clashing, their boots struggling for purchase in the thick mud. Slowly, agonisingly, some of the fighters are pushed back against a looming tower of corpses. The body pile is a mixture of slain men and horses, gorily intertwined like some gothic rendition of hell. In the distance, flayed men burn on crucifixes.

“You are dying!” yells an assistant director. “That’s the main thing to remember, you are dying!”

 


Fire Cannot Kill a Dragon  – James Hibberd

Genre: Non-fiction

Pages: 464

Audience: Adult

Publisher: Transworld

Publication Date: 06 Oct 2020


Goodreads – Fire Cannot Kill a Dragon

 

The official, definitive oral history of the blockbuster show from Entertainment Weekly’s James Hibberd, endorsed by George R. R. Martin himself (who calls it “an amazing read”), reveals the one Game of Thrones tale that has yet to be told: the thirteen-year behind-the-scenes struggle to make the show.

 Fire Cannot Kill a Dragon shares the incredible, thrilling, uncensored story of Game of Thrones, from the creators’ first meetings with George R. R. Martin and HBO through the series finale, including all the on-camera battles, off-camera efforts, and the many controversies in between. The book also features more than fifty candid new interviews, rare and stunning photos, and unprecedented access to the producers, cast, and crew who took an impossible idea and made it into the biggest show in the world.

 

My Thoughts…

As a huge Game of Thrones fan, I was always going to pick this up at some point! I’ve read all the books in digital and paperback format, as well as started listening to the audiobooks. I’ve also watched the TV show, some episodes multiple times. Now, I get to read about that too!

The opening lines introduce the filming of the Battle of the B*stards, which is one of my favourite parts of the TV series. It must have been a logistical nightmare, but on screen it was fantastic.

I’m looking forward to reading more about the overall production of the series. I (not so) secretly hope that it touches on how the TV series overtakes the books and how decisions were made on how to proceed (and how closely it stuck to GRRM’s intentions).

Have you read Fire Cannot Kill a Dragon? Are you as much a fan of the series as I am?

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Shelf Control #79 – 19/07/2024

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Whereas most Shelf Control posts feature me waxing lyrical about being excited to pick up an available read on my TBR, this post is different. I would literally shove my whole TBR aside to pick this up next book. There’s just one problem – it’s not published yet!

As always, I share a reminder of what the Shelf Control feature is all about before we get stuck in.

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

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


The Winds of Winter – George R.R. Martin

Genre: Epic fantasy

Pages: TBA

Audience: Adult

Publisher: Harper Voyager

Publication Date: TBC


Goodreads – The Winds of Winter


My Thoughts

George R.R. Martin and the A Song of Ice and Fire series, I love unconditionally. I’ll read the series again and again. To date, I’ve already read the first book four times, the second book three times and the rest of the series twice. It’s also one of the only series I own physical, digital ebook and audiobooks of. I’ve also shared content including my favourite quotes from the series. 

Fair to say I’m a bit obsessed?

I’m unapologetic too. In the time it will take for the series to be finished (and I refuse to think this won’t happen, okay?), I’ll have re-read it once or twice more. At least they’re not short books, so each re-read will take a while!

I’m looking forward to this next instalment, however long it takes. I’d rather it be done right than rushed. I’m especially interested to see how The Winds of Winter compares with the TV series and whether there is any material difference.

I’ll just have to wait to find out…

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Top Ten Tuesday – Summer 2024 TBR

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In today’s Top Ten Tuesday, I’ll be making plans for my Summer 2024 TBR and sharing the top ten books I plan to read this summer season.

Some of the books on this Top Ten Tuesday list carried over from my Winter 2023 TBR. This is the last time I did a post of this type, and given I enjoyed it so much last year, I’m bringing it back. I also want to keep myself accountable to these reading lists, so before publishing the next one I’ll be doing a check-in of what I have actually read from the list I’ve set.

Now, with that out of the way, shall we get into today’s Top Ten Tuesday list?

Summer 2024 TBR


Obsidio

Having nearly concluded The Illuminae Files trilogy, I’m keen to pick up this last book and to be able to mark the trilogy as complete. But, this is more than a tick box exercise. I have really enjoyed reading this young adult sci-fi series and seeing how the storylines come together.

I plan to pick up Obsidio later this month, so watch this space!

 

Wolves of the Calla

Another series I want to progress with him the near future is Stephen King’s The Dark Tower. Wolves of the Calla is a chunky instalment in the series, and I’m looking forward to getting stuck in.

Book in the series, Wizard and Glass, did not carry on the present-day storyline like I expected. Instead, it takes us back to the history of events to date and explains a lot about what’s been hinted at in the books. I’m hoping for a jump back to the present day so we can pick up the storyline again.


The Good Samaritan

I enjoyed listening to The Minders by John Marrs towards the end of last year. Having finished that book, I knew I wanted to pick up another of his soon.

The Good Samaritan has been on my reading list for a good while, so that is the book I want to pick up next. I’m also really intrigued by the synopsis and the conflict that I expect in this book.


Undoctored

I love Adam Kay’s writing style for his humour. As of today, I’ve already enjoyed reading both This is Going to Hurt, and his festive themed book,T’was the Nightshift Before Christmas.

I’m looking forward to going back to his non-Christmas themed writing. His books are full of humour, even though they discuss important and very thought-provoking, emotional topics.

 

The Kingdom

I added The Kingdom to my Winter 2023 TBR but never got to it. I’ve decided to carry it forward as I like the sound of the synopsis.

As fiction goes, it’s a little different to what I typically pick up. I was taken with the synopsis after hearing about the book on the Currently Reading podcast. Given it’s been an intention of mine to read the book for a while, I’ll try to include it on July’s TBR.


Jingo

If you follow my blog you’ll know that in the last couple of weeks, I’ve read two books written by, or about, Terry Pratchett. Neither of them were Discworld, but the autobiography has inspired me to continue with the next Discworld book and keep momentum going with the series.


Fool’s Errand

Another series I’m keen to keep progressing with is Robin Hobb’s Realm of the Elderlings series.

Fool’s Errand is the start of a new mini-series within the wider Realm of the Elderlings collection. It also goes back to a set of characters that we have seen previously in the first miniseries, the Farseer trilogy. I’m excited to see how these characters have moved on since those first books!


Breathtaking

I recently featured Breathtaking in a First Lines Friday post. Honestly, that introduction caught my attention so hard that I really want to read this book. I’ve also recently watched the TV documentary based on it, so it’s a topic that I want to explore more of.

I appreciate not everybody wants to deal with such a topic, but I think it’s important we as a society highlight what went wrong. Why were we were so unprepared, and how can we try and prevent the same mistakes being made in future?


Defiant

Another series I want to catch up on over the course of the summer is Brandon Sanderson‘s Skyward series. Last year I read Cytonic, which at the time was the last book published. However, a couple of short months later, this next instalment, Defiant, was published.

Now that I am reasonably on track with the series, I want to keep up with these as and when they come out. I’m a little late in starting Defiant as this came out in around November last year. But, reading this will mean I am back on track with the series and I can give myself a good old tick against my series goal!


Fire Cannot Kill a Dragon

The last book on this Top Ten Tuesday list is another non-fiction. With the next series of House of the Dragon coming out imminently, I want to read my copy of Fire Cannot Kill a Dragon.

If you are unfamiliar, this book is about the main Game of Thrones series. I honestly love it so much that I can read that, any spin off books and any books about the whole process and not get bored. It’s fat to say I am a little obsessed…


Have you read any of the books featured in my Top Ten Tuesday? Have any of them caught your eye and made you want to read them for yourself?

 

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Top Ten Tuesday – Books I Didn’t Get to in 2023

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Good evening readers! Posts like today’s Top Ten Tuesday are a great way to remind myself what some of my reading priorities were last year. In today’s post, I feature the books I intended to read over the course of 2023, but didn’t get to. It’s very likely I’ll try to prioritise them this year as a result!

I just about managed to scrape a list of 10 together. If I didn’t get to a specific book on a monthly TBR, I was pretty good at rolling it forward and picking it up in the following month(s) instead. There are some exceptions to that rule, though, and those are the feature of today’s Top Ten Tuesday.

Let’s see what those books were:

 

In Every Mirror She’s Black

This book was last on my February TBR and slipped the net for being rolled over into March. I’d bought my copy of the book on a whim in the 2022 post-Christmas sales. I’d chosen February to read it as February is when Black History month is celebrated.

I’m not intending to theme this February’s reading around Black History month. However, I’m always interested to read from a diverse range of authors and so I will be making an effort to do this throughout the year rather than in just one specific month.

 

The Hunchback of Notre Dame

I purchased a copy of The Hunchback of Notre Dame after going to watch a local production. This book is a tome, and whilst I had hoped to pick it up last year, I never got to it. It’s the sort of book I think you have to be in the mood for as well. Personally, I find that classics are books you need to have a certain amount of drive to pick up. The narratives don’t flow as well as modern day language; picking them up is a more deliberate action.

I did really enjoy this story, however, so I’m excited to get to The Hunchback of Notre Dame. It is just one book by Victor Hugo that I have on my reading list; the other is chunky as well!

 

To Shape A Dragon’s Breath

The next two books in today’s Top Ten Tuesday ended up on my TBR as a result of book clubs.

For a few months last year, I was reading along with an online book club. I discovered some amazing books through that, but in the end I stopped. As much as I was enjoying the books I was picking up, there was rarely any overlap with my existing reading list. Picking these up was taking away from the mountain of my own books I already have to read.

That said, I do like the sound of To Shape a Dragon’s Breath so I’ve left it on my TBR. This coincided was a busy month and so I didn’t get to start it, and the book club had moved on. As a result, there wasn’t any demand to go and read it quickly. Consequently, it temporarily fell off the list. I’ll be sweeping it up onto the list again, that’s for sure.

 

The Last Thing to Burn

The Last Thing to Burn is also a book I intended to read for a book club, but didn’t get to. Somebody in a local bookish Facebook group had posted an intention to start a book club and I was interested. However, it quickly spiralled into a large social group planning a meal out. In my opinion, the idea of the book club itself all but fell by the wayside. I had hoped to join to be able to have a good quality conversation with a few like-minded individuals, but it wasn’t meant to be.

As with To Shape A Dragon’s Breath, whilst the idea of a book club is great, reading books that other people ‘set’ take away from my time to read the books that I want to read for myself. By the end of last year, I wasn’t taking part in or reading books towards any book club at all and I’m happy with that. They are a good way to get out of your reading comfort zone, but I’m pretty good at pushing myself for now. I’ll never say never, but I have no plans to join anything any time soon.

 

Incendium

I hoped to read Incedium in November, as the book is loosely based around, or sounds similar to, the real life gunpowder plot. However, due to other reading obligations and carryovers from October, it didn’t happen.

I specifically wanted to read this book around bonfire night. Rather than land myself in the position of going into December trying to wrap up November’s books, I decided to let this one go with the intention of picking it up at the beginning of November this year instead! It’s a good job I published this Top Ten Tuesday as a reminder! 

 

The Black Coats

The Black Coats is my TBR jar pick from December. With the seasonal period, I ended up reading less than usual. As a result, I didn’t get this book before the end of the year.

However, I will be picking it up very soon. I have rolled The Black Coats onto my January TBR… although I’ll have to get a move on so I’m not rolling it on again into February! There’s still just over a week left of the month, so it’s manageable.

 

Firefight

Firefight is another book I intended to read in December but didn’t get to because of timing. There is a lot to do in December. From catching up with friends and family before the big day to actually doing the preparation for said big day… it’s amazing how much time that takes.

Plus, I had already met my official reading goal of the year and so the pressure was off. I think this contributed as well.

Whilst I won’t be reading Firefight in January, I am looking to pick this up next month instead.

 

A Storm of Swords, A Feast for Crows, A Dance with Dragons

The last three books on this Top Ten Tuesday list all tie together. At the beginning of 2023, I set out my intention to re-read George R.R. Martin’s A Song of Ice and Fire series. I did read the first couple of books in 2023.

A Storm of Swords is a little bit of a stretch on this list, because it’s more of a book I didn’t get to finish as opposed to get to at all. I ended up putting that book on hold in order to pick up other reading priorities and I never got back to it. Consequently, I never progressed from that point onwards either, meaning that A Feast for Crows and A Dance with Dragons also went unread.

I would like to continue my re-read of the series, however. So, I intend to chip away at these books, either in print or audio, throughout 2024.

 

So, those are the books that make it to today’s Top Ten Tuesday feature.

Have you read any of the books on this list? Are there any books on this list that you haven’t got to yet but can’t wait to pick up?

As always, I would love to hear from you!

 

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Shelf Control #72 – 08/12/2023

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Happy Friday lovely readers and welcome to today’s Shelf Control post. If you are reading this post as it goes live then I am out at a Christmas party. I’ve prepared today’s Shelf Control in advance of those plans… so hopefully I’ve managed to schedule the post correctly!

Shelf Control posts are a great way of taking a look at the books on my reading list, and admittedly, are nice, easy and formulaic post for me to draft on a deadline! Shall we get into it?

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

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

Today’s book is an older fantasy novel that incorporates some of the most common tropes of the genre. Let’s take a look at the book:

 

The Dragonbone Chair – Tad Williams

Genre: Fantasy

Pages: 672

Audience: Adult

Publisher: DAW

Publication Date: 25 Oct 1988

 

 

Goodreads – The Dragonbone Chair

A war fueled by the powers of dark sorcery is about to engulf the peaceful land of Osten Ard—for Prester John, the High King, lies dying. And with his death, the Storm King, the undead ruler of the elf-like Sithi, seizes the chance to regain his lost realm through a pact with the newly ascended king. Knowing the consequences of this bargain, the king’s younger brother joins with a small, scattered group of scholars, the League of the Scroll, to confront the true danger threatening Osten Ard.

Simon, a kitchen boy from the royal castle unknowingly apprenticed to a member of this League, will be sent on a quest that offers the only hope of salvation, a deadly riddle concerning long-lost swords of power. Compelled by fate and perilous magics, he must leave the only home he’s ever known and face enemies more terrifying than Osten Ard has ever seen, even as the land itself begins to die.

After the landmark Memory, Sorrow, and Thorn trilogy, the epic saga of Osten Ard continues with the brand-new novel, The Heart of What Was Lost. Then don’t miss the upcoming trilogy, The Last King of Osten Ard, beginning with The Witchwood Crown!

 

My Thoughts

When I added this book to my reading list, I had no idea that it was published in the 80’s or that it inspired George R.R. Martin. I added the book as I like the sound of the premise, and the fantasy formula is one I like.

Admittedly, there are some tropes in here that are used a LOT in fantasy. Sometimes I get a bored of them. However, as a reader of the genre these are near impossible to get away from. Usually, I try to change up what I’m reading in order to give myself enough of a break before coming back to these kinds of books.

Am I excited to pick up a book by a writer who has influenced more modern works? Yes! I’m also looking forward to reading something a little older than the usual books. I pick up to see how the genre and writing styles in general have evolved over time.

Have you read The Dragonbone Chair, or any others books in Tad Williams’s Memory, Sorrow and Thorn series? Would you like to? I’d love to hear from you!

 

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Sunday Summary – 1st October 2023

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Good evening readers and welcome to this week’s Sunday Summary update. As always, I hope you’ve had a great week, however you’ve spent it?

It’s been a very busy one here, and that reflects my reading progress, which I’ll touch on later. As a brief recap of what’s been going on outside of my reading and blogging life, I spent a couple of evenings baking for a MacMillan coffee morning held at work. That event was really successful and definitely worth the hours in the kitchen… all five or six of them! As well, I was out with friends on Thursday evening, and hosting family on Saturday. I’ve had an unusual number of plans this week!

Around that, I squeezed in a book tag post on Wednesday. In that post, I touched upon my firsts of 2023. Coming up to the three-quarter mark in the year, it was nice to go back and recap some of my milestones of the year.

On Friday, it was the turn of the next instalment in my Shelf Control series. This weeks feature was a young adult novel by one of my favourite authors of all time!

 

Books Read

 

A Storm of Swords

Last week, I shared with you how my reading progress was down, and that I thought that was partly down to a lack of urgency as I was re-reading a book. That’s definitely the case this week again, although it has been compounded by the additional plans and obligations I’ve had!

In all, I’ve only read a couple more chapters of A Storm of Swords this week. Progress isn’t going great, and so yesterday I made the decision to pick up a book I haven’t read yet in the hopes that it would spur me back into reading. I’ll try reading the two books in tandem, but if necessary, I’ll make a call next week as to whether I set aside A Storm of Swords. It’s not like I haven’t read it already…

 

Priest of Bones

I’m not a fan of reading via the Kindle app on my phone, but that is how I started this book yesterday. That was for practical reasons; I was at my hairdressers and my phone is honestly the easiest way to take books with me for the appointment.

I managed to read the first three chapters of the book whilst I was there. I’m already a fan of the writing style and the characters, so we’ve got off to a good start here. I’m hoping this is the book that will give me a kick up the bum to get back on with reading. Failing that, I’ve got some reading obligations coming up – a deadline might be what I need!

 

Books Discovered

Having added a couple of books to the reading list last week, I’ve decided to behave and I’ve not added anything new this time!

 

Coming Up…

With the beginning of a new month, next week promises both my monthly wrap up post for September on Tuesday, as well as a brand-new reading list on Friday. Out of necessity, this month’s list is probably going to include some carryovers from September, as well as three books that I need to review before the end of the month as I’ve signed up to do so. I hope you’re as excited for those posts as I am!

You know the drill – I will round off the week with another Sunday Summary update.

Hopefully I’ll have considerably more news to share with you next week! Now that I’ve decided to change tack a little, and gotten through the period of other obligations, I’m optimistic for a better run next week. You’ll have to tune into next week Sunday Summary to find out if that is the case though!

Until then, I hope to see you in the next post.

 

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Sunday Summary – 24th September 2023

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Today’s Sunday Summary comes from a rather miserable evening here on the Island! It’s blowing a hoolie out there, as we often say, and I’m grateful to be tucked in at home!

What’s been happening this week? Well, I started off the week with a Top Ten Tuesday post. In that post, I featured some of the books I anticipate to read over the course of autumn. there are a number of seasonal reads in this list. If you are interested or looking for some inspiration yourself, take a look at that post and see if anything catches your eye!

On Friday, I shared my next instalment in my ongoing series, Well I Didn’t Know That! When I wrote to you this time last week, I had no idea as to what the topic of that feature was going to be. Thankfully, not christening this enabled me to feature some topical news that came up earlier in the week. If you’re interested in reading about the recently filed lawsuit by big-name authors against ChatGPT owner OpenAI, then take a look at that post.

 

Books Read

 

Twelve Years a Slave

As of last week’s Sunday Summary update post, I was just under 70% through Twelve Years a Slave by Solomon Northup. When I left you, I had around 40 minutes reading time left in the book in order to make it to completion. I can’t recall how long it actually took, but it didn’t feel too far off that.

I’m glad I persevered with the nrrative style of this book. I won’t lie – at first, I wasn’t sure if I was going to stick with this book. It is written in quite a different style. When you consider the book was published in 1853, that shouldn’t be a big surprise. However, I’m glad I was able to get used to the style and finish it through to the end.

Twelve Years a Slave it’s quite a difficult book to read in terms of subject matter. To think that so many people were treated as badly as, and if not far worse than Solomon, is a difficult truth to swallow. However, I am a firm believer that we cannot learn from our past if we refuse to acknowledge that it happened. I found the story really insightful not only from a historical point of view, but also considering the ability of humans to endure in times of extreme hardship.

 

A Storm of Swords

When it comes to my main read for this week, I confess that I haven’t done all that well. Over the last few weeks I’ve been maintaining a reading pace of around 500 pages a week. I certainly haven’t done that this week!

I started off reading my paperback copy of A Storm of Swords. However, I found myself struggling with this a little. Some books are easier to hold than others. I’ve also been reading a lot from my Kindle, so switching from that to a paperback can be a bit of a challenge.

I ended up switching to my Kindle edition with this in order to keep making progress. That has still only worked so far, as I’ve only read 200 pages of the book this week. I will be looking to read more tonight, but in all, progress is down. Perhaps if I’d spent a bit less time playing Horizon Forbidden West this week, then I could’ve made some more progress. But then again, I had a good time so who am I to deny myself that?!

I also find that when I am re-reading books, any sense of urgency to get through them seems to disappear. If this continues to be the case, I may decide to read this book in tandem with another… but we’ll see.

 

Books Discovered

I’ve added a couple of non-fiction reads to the reading list this week. The first of which isn’t out yet, but I’m adding it so I can pick it up when it does.

The first book I have added is This Book May Save Your Life by Dr Karan Rajan. If you spend any length of time on TikTok, Facebook or Instagram watching reels, then you’ll have seen videos by Dr Rajan. I really like the humour that comes through in his videos, and when I watched one of him reading an extract of this book, it had all the elements of humour we have come to know and love. And if you wanted a fun fact, that particular extract discusses how we all begin our lives as a*seholes… literally!

The second book was also added as a result of a recommendation via Facebook reel. I’m trying to read up more on personal development and when I saw the recommendation for Radical Candor, I decided to give it a go!

 

Coming Up…

Next week is going to be a busy one, so I’m deliberately not going to do anything to onerous when it comes to my blogging commitments. Early in the week, I am going to be spending a couple of evenings baking for a Macmillan Coffee Morning that I’ve organised at work. I’m also out for several evenings this week, which is most unlike me!

With this in mind, on Tuesday, I’ll be sharing a booktag post. It’s been quite awhile since I’ve done one of these, and I haven’t really seen many about. The theme of this tag is my ‘firsts’ in 2023.

On Friday, it’s the turn of my Shelf Control feature post. In this series, I feature books coming up on my reading list and why I’m excited to pick them up! This week, I feature a young adult book by one of my favourite authors, Brandon Sanderson. Having read and enjoyed the first three books in his Skyward series so far, I’m confident that I will enjoy this one as well!

As always, I’ll be rounding off the week with another Sunday Summary update post for you all. Fingers crossed for more reading progress, although with the plans I’ve set, maybe not! 

In the meantime though, that’s it for today’s Sunday Summary post. I hope you have a fabulous week and I will catch you in the next post!

 

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Monthly TBR – September 2023

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Hello fellow reading friends! I hope you’re as excited for my September Monthly TBR as I am!

I usually set myself a challenge every month and that’s no exception here! However, this month the stretch is more achievable. The books I set out on this list come out to around 2500 pages in total. Over the course of the month, that works out at needing to read an average of 83 pages a day. That’s about what I’ve been doing anyway.

I do have a small stretch in that in addition to the books shared on this list, I also need to finish my carryover book from August, Wizard and Glass by Stephen King. That adds an additional 400 pages to the monthly total, and ups the daily page count to 97 pages. As I say, a bit of a stretch, but not unachievable!

This month, I have a fairly even mix of fixed reads to pick up, as well as some that I have some freedom to change if I need to. Let’s get into this monthly TBR and take a look at what’s coming up reading-wise…

 

Fixed Reads

My first reading priorities of September are to pick up and finish two blog tour reads. I’m hoping to have both books finished by the 10th of September (at the latest, the first review is due on the 10th). I’ve already made a healthy start into the first and I won’t be hanging around to start the second.

The deadlines then slacken a little, as the remaining books on my ‘fixed’ reading list come from my monthly TBR pick, and a new feature, a book chosen by my Instagram followers.

 

Protector of Mercia

Protector of Mercia is my current read (Wizard and Glass is still ongoing, although I will be reading it around PoM if I can).

Protector of Mercia is the fifth book in M.J. Porter’s Eagle of Mercia series. I’ve already read and reviewed the first four books on my blog (review of Eagle of Mercia, book four linked here as that contains links to all prior books). Having really enjoyed the unique perspective these offer, I’ve been looking forward to taking part in that over the latest book… which incidentally was published today.

As I’ve already briefly alluded to above, the review deadline for this book is the 10th of September. With just a few days left before that review was due, I am making all haste through this narrative and enjoying every second of it!

 

The Trail

The next book I will be picking up straight after Protector of Mercia is The Trail by M.A. Hunter.

The review deadline for The Trial comes thick and fast after Protector of Mercia, being just two days later. I’m sure you can see why I’ve put down Wizard and Glass for now in favour of these books. I decided to take part in the blog tour for this book based on the sound of the synopsis. I haven’t read anything by this author before, so it will be a new experience for me. having not read a thriller for a little while, I’m looking forward to a change up in genre as well.

 

Twelve Years A Slave

September’s TBR Jar pick works really well with my goal of reading more non-fiction. I happened to pull Twelve Years a Slave from the jar.

I feel like I featured on my blog not that long ago, but in reality, it’s probably longer than I thought. Already, I’ve downloaded a digital copy of this book from my library already, and I’m looking forward to getting stuck in! Although I am familiar with the title, and I know that there has been a film based on this true story of the author, I am very ignorant of what actually happens. It’s for that reason that I am looking to pick this book up.

It offers a perspective I have never read before, and provides the educational aspect that I need. I’m a firm believer that we shouldn’t shy away from even the nastiest parts of our history. How can we learn from such things if we try to hide from them?

 

Priest of Bones

The last book on my fixed reads list of this monthly TBR is Priest of Bones by Peter McLean. In order to choose two books from my reading list, from which to poll my followers, I used a random number generator. This month, my followers had the choice of picking either Priest of Bones, or the runner-up, Killing for Company. I would have been happy with either choice, but I’m excited that this particular book won. I am predominantly a fantasy reader, yet I only have one other fantasy on this TBR (excepting Wizard and Glass once again!)

I suspect I’ll be reading the runner-up selection next month, as I’m keen to get to that one as well. If you want to have a say in my future polls, be sure to follow me on Instagram ahead of the next vote.

 

Mood Reads

 

A Storm of Swords – part 1

One of the things I set out to do earlier this year was to re-read the A Song of Ice and Fire series (aka A Game of Thrones), ahead of publication of the sixth book in the series. There were rumours that this was going to be towards the end of this year, although I’ve heard very little since.

That works out for me, because I am nowhere near as far along with the re-read as I initially planned. Instead, I’ve been picking up some other great reads, and this has fallen by the wayside a little.

In September, I’m going to be reading the first part of A Storm of Swords only. That’s hefty enough at about 600 pages. This is also the longest book on this monthly TBR… by a long shot! More typically, I would read books closer to an average of 500 pages. This month I’m uncharacteristically less at 357!

 

Lost Solace

The one book I didn’t touch at all in August is Lost Solace by Karl Drinkwater. I’ve read a number of books related to this main series and reviewed them for blog tours in the past. Lost Solace has been on my backlist to read. Since I didn’t get to this book in August, I am making it the highest priority mood read of the month.

 

The Last Thing To Burn

I’ve been a member of a local bookish group on Facebook for a while, and another member recently suggested starting a book club. There’s nothing set in stone as yet. But, I quite like the sound of the book that’s been chosen. So, I’ll read it in case an event (virtual or not) goes ahead.

 

Summary

As if quite often the case nowadays, I have quite the range of books and genres in this list!

Have you read any of the books listed in today’s monthly TBR? Are any of them on your reading list?

 

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Monthly Wrap-Up – June 2023

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

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

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

 

Books Read

 

A Clash of Kings

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

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

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

 

The Lost Metal

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

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

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

 

The Midnight Library

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

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

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

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

 

The House in the Cerulean Sea

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

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

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

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

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

 

DNF / Hold

Children of Dune

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

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

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

 

Summary

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

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

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

 

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Sunday Summary – 18th June 2023

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

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

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

 

Books Read

 

A Clash of Kings

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

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

 

The Lost Metal

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

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

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

 

Books Discovered

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

 

Coming Up…

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

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

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

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

 

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