Tag: Johann Hari

Sunday Summary – 30th April 2023

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Happy long weekend all! It’s time for my weekly Sunday Summary post, catching you up on all the latest reading progress and bookish news of the week.

The first post I shared this week was published on Wednesday. In that post, I reviewed the very first book I read in 2022. Yes, that is how far behind I am on reviews! The book is The Amazing Adventures of Kavalier and Clay; one I wouldn’t necessarily have discovered/picked up on my own, but it was recommended to me and I thoroughly enjoyed it!

On Friday, I shared the next instalment of my series, Shelf Control. For this week’s post, I featured a legal thriller written by a prominent author in this genre. I have featured one of his books before, as that is also on my reading list to pick up! However, I am still yet to read any of these books. Check out this week’s post to find out who I’m talking about.  

 

Books Read

 

Stolen Focus

As of last week’s Sunday Summary update, I was a third of the way through Stolen Focus by Johann Hari. Naturally, I have been progressing with this book throughout the week, and I finished it on Wednesday.

I like how this book discusses some individual things we can do in order to improve our own focus, but also highlight that we’re up against it. It seems that a lot of self-help books try to point the finger at individuals for a lack of focus. However, as this book rightly points out, we live in a world where increasingly, everybody is vying for attention. I mean, look at me – even by writing this blog post, I’m hoping to take a small portion of your attention. Hopefully, not in an aggressive or distracting way… but still.

This book covers both sides and it’s packed full of research that has been collated in order to educate us about our focus. It was a really informative read, and the narrative style was enjoyable.

 

The Adventures of Amina Al-Sirafi

Next, I decided to pick up my book club read, The Adventures of Amina Al-Sirafi. I am enjoying this book, but at the same time, it’s not one that I am being successful in reading very quickly. When I was getting my facts together for this post, I surprised myself when I saw that I’d finished Stolen Focus on Wednesday. That’s not that long ago, but it feels like I’ve been working through The Adventures of Amina Al-Sirafi a lot longer than that.

It’s a fun book. In essence, we follow an adventure led by Amina, an infamous pirate. Through her quest, she seems to be getting together old friends in order to help her find a rare treasure and uncover what is currently a bit of a mystery. I won’t say any more than that, so as not to spoil the book. I am at the halfway point right now, and I’m interested to see where this is going to lead.

One of the elements I have liked very much is that the book is set in the Middle East. Quite often in fantasy, the setting is either entirely fictional, or heavily westernised. That clearly isn’t the case in this book! I like that it explores what it is to be a Muslim. The protagonist has clearly not abided by that faith in her past, but she is trying her best now. It is a perspective I don’t see very often, and I read a lot of fantasy! I’m enjoying this change of scenery and focus when it comes to religion.

 

Books Discovered

I have absolutely no news in terms of additions to my reading list, or book purchases this week.

 

Coming Up…

It is the beginning of a brand-new month next week. So, that means it’s going to be a busy one!

I’m taking advantage of the bank holiday tomorrow in order to update you with my monthly wrap-up for April. Most of that reading progress has already been covered in my Sunday Summary post. However, I do intend to make further progress in my current read tonight, so that will be included in that post.

On Wednesday, I’m taking part in the blog tour for Eagle of Mercia by M.J. Porter. I read the book earlier this month in advance of the tour, and I’m looking forward to sharing my thoughts with you. Eagle of Mercia is the fourth book in the Eagle of Mercia Chronicles. I’ve had the pleasure of touring for each of these books so far. I’ll be continuing by sharing my thoughts on this latest book next week.

I also have my May TBR to squeeze in. I already have quite a full schedule planned this week, but I don’t want to leave it until next week to tell you what I’m reading. So, I am going to share my May TBR on Thursday.

On Friday, I am sharing a First Lines Friday post with you. When I drafted my blog post to go live this Friday, I made a bit of a boo-boo. I only realised that I drafted a First Lines Friday post in error, thinking that was the post due this week, until I was setting the post up on my blog. So, I decided not to waste the effort I’d made so far and I’ve already scheduled it to go live this Friday. With all the posts I’m sharing in addition to this next week, maybe that’s not a bad thing that I’ve already done it…

And of course, I will end my marathon run with another Sunday Summary at the same time next week! It’s a good job we have another bank holiday next week, because I’ll need the rest!

 

For now, that is all from me in today’s Sunday Summary post. I am going to make a little more progress with The Adventures of Amina Al-Sirafi before turning in.

What are you reading?

 

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Sunday Summary – 23rd April 2023

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Good evening and welcome back to another Sunday Summary update from yours truly. It’s been a great week, and I hope you’ve had the same!

I began my blogging week with a Top Ten Tuesday post. This week’s particular theme was a non-bookish freebie. So, I decided to share some of the other hobbies I enjoy other than reading! I hope it helps you get a feel for the kind of person I am and gives you a chance to learn a little bit more about me.

On Friday, I shared another post in my Well, I Didn’t Know That! series. For this week’s post, I decided to take a look at features I am yet to explore on StoryGraph, an alternative to Goodreads. Inevitably, I ended up comparing the two sites a little bit in the post. If, like me, you are a Goodreads veteran and are interested in seeing more about the StoryGraph, check out that post!

 

Books Read

 

Eagle of Mercia

As of last week’s Sunday Summary, I was just one chapter into Eagle of Mercia by M.J. Porter. It was a start, but I hadn’t really gotten that far into the book. That’s not the case now. I managed to read the entirety of Eagle of Mercia this week, and it’s been good to get back into the series.

I really enjoy the perspective of the protagonist in this series. In the three books we have read so far, we have already seen a great deal of character development. That continues throughout Eagle of Mercia, but in a way that feels natural to the storyline.

I also like how the narratives in this series vary quite significantly from each book. It would be quite easy to fall into a trap of similar events, or at least the same structure of narrative. I don’t really find that with these. They are quite action-driven books, but they don’t feel repetitive or like a regurgitation of a previous story.

 

Stolen Focus

Next, I decided to pick up a non-fiction read for a bit of a change. Stolen Focus has been on my TBR for about a year now. I initially heard about it via a podcast, and was shocked at some of the statistics that are discussed in this book. I’m still shocked reading them for myself.

I am a third of the way through this book as of today’s Sunday Summary post. I’m already thinking about some of the ways I can change my behaviour to do what I can for my focus. There was a bit of irony in that I was reading the chapter about the detriment of ‘multitasking’ (called switching in the book) yesterday morning, whilst simultaneously trying to make breakfast.

The one thing I would point out to anybody interested in this book, is that it’s message is that it’s not all about you. Yes, there are small improvements we can all make in order to preserve our focus. However, its key message is that we are in a society full of competitors furiously vying for our attention. If you enjoyed watching The Social Dilemma on Netflix, this book touches on some of the themes explored in that docu-film.

 

Books Discovered

Just after I drafted last week’s Sunday Summary post, I read about a book that I’ve decided to add to my reading list. The book is called Sensitive by Jenn Granneman. It doesn’t seem to be that well-read yet, but it was recommended on LinkedIn by somebody I follow.

I am sensitive person. If I do say so myself, I am quite good at picking up on peoples emotions. So much so, being around negative emotions can have a negative impact on me. I want to explore the subject further, and I hope to do so with this book.

I also saw another book in our local The Works store today that caught my eye. If you read my blog regularly, you’ll know that I enjoy books based around World War II. Unsurprisingly then, I have added The Auschwitz Photographer by Maurizio Onnis (translated by Luca Crippa) to my reading list. Whereas previously I have read fiction based on experiences of those in the camp, the Auschwitz photographer is a non-fiction book.

 

Coming Up…

It’s been a few weeks since I shared a book review with you all. Now that I’m finally done with documenting my thoughts on the Harry Potter series, you can expect to find some variety in my reviews going forward! This week’s review will be for the very first book I read in 2022, The Amazing Adventures of Kavalier and Clay by Michael Chabon.

On Friday, I’ll be sharing my next Shelf Control post with you. If you are unaware, this is the series in which I feature upcoming books on my reading list that I’m excited to pick up. Naturally, I tell you all about these books in this post, and why I can’t wait to read them. This week’s book is a legal thriller by a big-name author who I’ve yet to read any books by!

Finally, I’ll be back with another Sunday Summary post in a week’s time. In that post, I’ll tell you about the books I’ve been reading, and all my other bookish updates.

I hope you have enjoyed today’s Sunday Summary!

Have you read any of today’s featured books? What are you reading now?

 

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Monthly TBR – April 2023

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It’s the Easter weekend and I’m excited to share my monthly TBR post for April 2023!

March was a bit of an unusual one in that I read lots, and had a very successful month that way. The reads I picked up weren’t as highly rated as those I picked up earlier in the year. However, I’m really happy with the overall experience.

This month, I’m aiming for a repeat of that… albeit if I rate these books higher than those I did in March, that’s a bonus. I have a very different selection of books to pick up, but I’m looking forward to them all!

Enough waffle – let’s dive into this monthly TBR!

 

Fixed Reads

 

The Adventures of Amina Al-Sirafi

I am back to taking part in the online book club run by Ezeekat. This month’s featured book is a relatively new publication – The Adventures of Amina Al-Sirafi. I really like the sound of this new fantasy novel. It sounds like a little bit of an epic fantasy in setting, but with strong piracy themes. It’s a little bit different to the sort of fantasy book. I will pick up under normal circumstances, and that’s why I would like to give it a try!

 

Thanks for Sharing

As of writing this post, I’ve already read and reviewed Thanks for Sharing for a blog tour.

I wanted to pick up the book as a means of getting some inspiration for ways we can live a more sustainable lifestyle. It was an interesting read all about the various ways we can adopt a sharing economy for goods that are infrequently used, or by goods with expiry dates coming up.

If you want to check my review, you can find that here.

 

Eagle of Mercia

Another book I’m reading for an upcoming blog tour is Eagle of Mercia by M.J. Porter.

So far, I’ve already read the first three books in this series, Son of Merica, Wolf of Mercia and Warrior of Mercia. I’ve really enjoyed reading and reviewing the series so far, and I’m looking forward to continuing the series.

I’ll be sharing my review for the upcoming blog tour on 3rd May, so I’ll be reading this in April ahead of that date.

 

Wolf of Wessex

Once a month I pull a book out of my TBR Jar (aka an owl mug sat on my bookshelves). This month, I pulled Wolf of Wessex by Matthew Harffy.

It’s pure coincidence that I’ve ended up with two historical fiction novels in a similar time period on my TBR this month. Based on the synopsis, the setting of Wolf of Wessex is slightly different. The narrative doesn’t deliberately allude to conflict between Saxons, but that may well presented self in the narrative. The book is very highly rated, and as this is a period of history that I clearly enjoy as I read it a lot, I’m looking forward to seeing how the narrative unfolds and whether I wish to pick up more books by this author.

 

Mood Reads

 

The Mad Ship

A bit like last month, I’m not really reading my books in the typical order. In previous months, I have prioritised my fixed reading list, and then move onto my mood reads later.

This month, I started the month with 120 pages of progress into The Mad Ship. Starting this book was my stretch goal outlined in March’s monthly TBR post. I then had to put this down temporarily in order to prioritise Thanks For Sharing for the blog tour. Now that obligation is complete, I am back with continuing with The Mad Ship.

Hardly unexpected, but I’m really enjoying this book so far. The first book does a lot of the ground work in the setting of this new trilogy. Now that is all set out, we can dive into the narrative and further the storylines quite quickly. I am already a third of the way through the book and enjoying it completely.

 

Stolen Focus

I wanted to read another non-fiction book this month. Looking through my TBR, I decided to get my hands on a copy of Stolen Focus by Johann Hari.

Some days, I am really good at setting myself goals and achieving what I set out to do. Other days, I can be really distracted. I am the type of person who will do multiple things at once in the name of multitasking, but really, am I achieving much? No, most often.

One of the things I’m working on is trying to pinpoint where the distractions come from so then I can limit them. I’m hoping this book can help with some insight as to why this happens, what circumstances may cause this in order to work on it.

 

Stretch Goal

 

The Hunchback of Notre Dame

As I did last month, I am setting myself a stretch goal of starting The Hunchback of Notre Dame before the end of the month.The average page count per day required this month is slightly higher. As of writing this post, I’m also slightly behind on my daily target. With that in mind, I might not get there. But, it is a goal to aim towards.

Another reason for doing this is that splitting down larger books intentionally over a couple of months makes them a little bit more manageable. The Hunchback of Notre Dame is quite a hefty book. Don’t get me wrong, I can read chunky books over the course of a month. I did it last month, and I’ll be doing it this month as well. However, with this being a classic as opposed to a book from my favourite genre, I will find this more approachable to read if I’m splitting over the two months.

Even if I can just start the book, I’ll be happy bunny!

 

Those are the books on my monthly TBR for April. 

Are you reading anything over the Easter weekend?

 

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