Tag: literary fiction

Sunday Summary – 25th January 2026

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We’re fast approaching the end of January. In terms of reading, the month has flown and this Sunday Summary has plenty of reading progress to share! 

Before I get to that though, I always like to start my Sunday Summary by sharing what else I’ve published this week. On my blog, I published my review of As Long as the Lemon Trees Grow and a Shelf Control featuring a psychological thriller coming up on my TBR. 

On YouTube, I shared my 2026 Highly Anticipated Reads and another review – this time for my first read of the year, Orbital. 

 

Books Read

Notes on a Nervous Planet

A little discouraged after trying and DNF’ing The Courage to be Disliked last week, I instead chose to pick up a non-fiction self-help by an author I have read before. Thankfully, I already owned a copy of Notes on a Nervous Planet, so picking this up felt like a natural choice.

Unlike my previous experience with The Courage to be Disliked, I really got on with Notes on a Nervous Planet. A book by Matt Haig is a pretty safe bet, and after the disappointment of my first DNF last week, I’m glad I found a self-help I got on with a lot more.

Notes on a Nervous Planet is a really interesting read; it is a collection of short notes grouped into topics about how and why different aspects of our modern world can impact our mental health. The book also includes recommendations on how to minimise those impacts. From everything like the impact of the news and the frequency of its availability to the consequences of modern technology, social media on self-perception, this book has a lot to say in a reasonable, approachable page count. 

I actually read Notes on a Nervous Planet pretty quickly, finishing it in just a few days. 

 

The Great Passage

I’m coming to the end of listening to The Great Passage by Shion Miura. I have really enjoyed this audiobook. In particular, I’ve enjoyed reading a book written about and featuring a completely different culture to that I am used to. When discussing my read of this book earlier today, I shared that as someone who reads a lot of western books, I really appreciate the differences that are apparent in terms of work ethic and general cultural norms. 

The Great Passage is a very different book to read and that’s why I chose it in audio format. It’s made it a really easy listen, and it’s also a pretty short listen if you’re considering picking up the book this way as well. 

As of this Sunday Summary update, I have just forty minutes left of this audiobook! I imagine I’ll wrap this up early next week. 

 

After the Forest

The final book I have read in part this week is After the Forest by Kell Woods. I’m reading this book as a cottagecore fantasy prompt as part of the Cottagecore Fantasy Book Club run by cozysabie. 

As of this Sunday Summary update, I have read a third of the book. I’m really enjoying this fairytale spin-off so far. We are all familiar with the fairytale of Hansel and Gretel. After the Woods takes this one step further, but also includes some darker themes, including war, witchcraft, and in some aspects, the treatment and objectification of women. 

I deliberately chose this book this month because I like a fairytale retelling. I’m also reliably informed that the author has written another retelling, although sitting outside of the cottagecore sub genre. Nevertheless, depending on how progress continues with After the Woods, I may well pick that second book up of my own accord.

 

Books Discovered

My 2026 Highly Anticipated Reads video went live this week, so I can now share the books I’ve added as part of that post. Two books in that video were already on my TBR – these are the new ones! 

In addition, I’ve added two more this week, Wild Dark Shore after seeing the book on Anna Carolina’s video and The Ocean Would Paint Me Blue, a new release by Zoulfa Katouh later this year. I discovered this book when writing my review of As Long as the Lemon Trees Grow, sadly after filming my 2026 Anticipated Releases video. Otherwise, I’d have included it! 

 

Coming Up… 

Some content next week shouldn’t come as a surprise. 

On Tuesday, I’ve got a blog tour commitment for a short story collection I still need to read, Dark Chronicles. It’s only 178 pages total. After this post goes live, I’m pausing progress with After the Woods to read this ahead of publishing my review on Tuesday. 

On Friday, I’ve got another First Lines Friday post planned. So far, I haven’t got a theme in mind. I’ll probably keep it open so I have full flexibility in what I feature. Hopefully I can still feature something a bit different. 

On Saturday, we’ll officially be at the end of January. Late on in the day, I’ll share my monthly wrap-up and recap the reads I kicked off 2026 with. Here’s hoping I get to the end (or close) of my January TBR 🤞🏻

Finally, I’ll be back with a Sunday Summary to recap the week’s progress at the end of next week. Here’s hoping for another successful week!

On YouTube, I’m publishing my top 5 reads of 2025, as well as a review of my second read of January, Beyond Redemption. I hope you can check those out! 

 

Summary 

That’s the last of my updates in today’s Sunday Summary. 

Tell me about a book you read recently and whether you recommend it or not 😌

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Sunday Summary – 18th January 2026

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Somehow we’ve made it to the end of another weekend. Honestly, I feel like this week has flown! In today’s Sunday Summary, I have some great physical reading progress I’ve made this week to share. However, I also have my first DNF, but never mind! Before we get to that, let’s take a look at what I’ve posted on the blog.

My first post is a record of the ongoing series I’m currently reading and planning to continue with. I made this post to keep myself accountable with continuing with these series. I’ll be checking in with you guys with progress throughout the year. If you’re curious to see what I’m reading and which of these I’ll be prioritising this year, you can take a look at that post by following this link.

Next, I shared a New Year Book Tag for a bit of fun content. This tag looks at everything from bookish and non-bookish resolutions, to books I’m looking to prioritise this year. It’s a lighthearted post and will hopefully give you some insight in what my reading priorities will be in 2026. You can find that post here.

 

Books Read

Beyond Redemption 

When it comes to finishing Beyond Redemption, I didn’t quite get the finish I hoped for in last week’s Sunday Summary post. Instead, I finished this book on Tuesday.

Whilst Beyond Redemption is a perfectly okay read, unfortunately, it didn’t quite live up to my expectations. In the end, I found the pacing quite slow and it wasn’t the easiest of books for me to finish. The premise is a good idea and the plot is full of twists and turns to keep the reader engaged. It’s for this reason I did continue and finish with the book, but I won’t be continuing with the series.

 

Yellowface 

It made a refreshing change to pick up a contemporary book. Picking up a book by R.F. Kuang at a time where I’ve had some slow reads was the antidote I needed! 

In comparison to Beyond Redemption, which I have been reading on and off for the last month, I finished Yellowface in a matter of days. Yesterday, I took advantage of downtime at the weekend and I blitzed 190 pages, which is about 55%, to get a finish on this book. And do you know what, it was no effort at all. I couldn’t help but read chapter after chapter to find out where events were going to take us! 

Whilst the main character of the book isn’t exactly likeable for what she does, it’s compelling to see what happens to her and watch her downfall. Like I said, Yellowface was the antidote I needed to a bit of a slow start with some of my recent reads. I’m glad I picked it up when I did because with any luck, it can help me pick up the pace for the rest of January. 

 

The Courage to be Disliked 

On my TBR, I had planned to pick up a book by Helene Brenner called I Know I’m in There Somewhere. However, it has proven to be very difficult to get a copy of this book! So much so, I have decided to switch this self-help non-fiction for an alternative that I can read pretty easily. That book is The Courage to be Disliked. 

I’ve borrowed this book digitally from my library so I can discuss my thoughts on it in our workplace January book club meet. Thankfully, this month I set a self-help or learning theme to the reading so it’s not the end of the world I’ve had to swap the book.

Ultimately, I didn’t get that far into my read of The Courage to be Disliked. I have to say, it didn’t really grab my attention and the novelty of a dialogue narrative wore off quickly. I gave the book until just after 20% before DNF’ing. I’d rather focus my efforts on a book I don’t think I have to struggle through. 

So, I’ve already racked up my first DNF in January! Whilst I haven’t started it yet, I’ve swapped this book (again) for Notes on a Nervous Planet by Matt Haig. Fingers crossed I have better luck starting this one later tonight 🤞🏻

 

Books Discovered

Last week I added some new releases to my TBR, but didn’t disclose those as I was announcing them as part of a content piece on YouTube. Whilst I was going to publish that this week, I was a little delayed in making the edits to the video. As a result, that is going live on Monday. So, I’ll announce those reads in next week Sunday Summary update ☺️

I have added one more book to the reading list based on a conversation with Izzy at work this week. It’s her current read, A History of Women in 101 Objects. She recommended it to me as she’s really enjoying it so far. 

 

Coming Up… 

So, what should you expect next week content-wise? 

On the blog, I’ve got a review of a fantastic audiobook I listened to and loved in 2023 lined up for you. The title – As Long As the Lemon Trees Grow by Zoulfa Katou. 

On Friday, I’ll continue my review of my TBR and share why I’m excited to pick up the next read on my list. The book I’m featuring is a psychological thriller with a technological twist – a computer genius accessing their murdered housemates digital memories to find her killer.  

Finally, I’ll be back with a Sunday Summary this time next week. Fingers crossed I’ll have as much in the way of reading progress as I’ve achieved this week 🤞🏻

On YouTube, I’m publishing a post I planned for this week – six new releases I’m excited for in 2026. Next, I’ve got my first recorded video review for a more recent read, Orbital by Samantha Harvey. 

 

Summary 

That’s all from me in today’s Sunday Summary instalment. What have you read this week? 

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Sunday Summary – 4th January 2026

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The first weekend of 2026 is upon us! Welcome to my first Sunday Summary of the year, and I’m glad for the fresh start. I’ve gotten back into the habit of reading over the last few days, and I’ve enjoyed a fresh, shorter read to get me back into the swing of things. Before that though, what else have I been posting about? 

Well, it’s been a busy week! I started easily doors with posting my ideas for both non-traditional and traditional reading goals. Whilst I’ve written the posts to be timeless and something that can be gone back to year on year, maybe you can take inspiration from these posts for your 2026 reading goals, if you’ve yet to set one. Some of the ideas on these lists are part of MY resolutions, which will be released in the coming days. 

On Thursday I published my monthly wrap-up for December. I confess, I don’t have many ‘finishes’ to my name in the final month of the year, but I did read a good few books at least in part. As I’d completed my reading goal by the beginning of December, I found myself reading less as the month went on. Still, I enjoyed the break, achieved most of what I wanted to do and I’m back raring to go now. 

Finally, yesterday I shared my wrap-up of 2025 as a whole. In that post, I looked at progress against my 2025 resolutions and where I got to at the end of of the year. If you’ve yet to read that post, here’s a link so you can take a look for yourself. 

 

Books Read

 

The Doors of Midnight 

Progress with The Doors of Midnight is ongoing. You may recall in last week’s Sunday Summary update that I’ll be reading this over the next few weeks. It’s a long book and audiobook! I did make some progress this week, but admittedly not a whole lot. Still, an hour is better than nothing at all. Next week, things will be back to more normal routine. I’ll be going back the gym more, driving to work every day of the week etc. 

I’m still enjoying where this narrative is taking us and I think it’s about to take a turn I wasn’t expecting. That makes it more interesting though, and has me wanting to pick this up more over the next seven days. 

 

Orbital

At the start of the New Year, I took the decision to pick up a short, fresh read to get back into the reading groove with. Rather than starting the year with 2025’s reads that I was a little slow to get going with, starting with something new felt right. 

Although Orbital is short, I wouldn’t say it’s a light read. On the contrary, it asks a lot of existential and heavy questions, and covers everything from life and relationships to politics. Still, it was a great choice to start the year with. Picking up Orbital is also a bonus in that it starts the year ticking off some goals on my upcoming 2026 resolutions. 

As of this Sunday Summary update, I have just finished this book! It’s been a fun and thought-provoking read to start 2026 with, and definitely set me off to a great start. I love that although the page count is small, it’s a slow, thought-provoking and inspiring narrative. It proves we don’t need high-stakes action to drive a plot. Rather, slow, introspective musings make for entertaining reading as well. Orbital is quite different from the usual reads I pick up, but its a prize winner for a reason. It deserves the accolade. If you haven’t read this one and crave a change of pace, Orbital would be a great option. 

 

Books Discovered

 Somehow I’ve refrained from spending my book vouchers, and I’ve also been good and not added anything to my reading list in the meantime either. It’s got plenty enough on it without me adding more to it at this time anyway. 

I’ll take this as good news 🥳

 

Coming Up… 

I’ve got some exciting and slightly scary content coming out next week. Great, because I’m sharing my 2026 resolutions and my January 2026 monthly TBR. Why is that scary Well, I got myself in front of a camera earlier today to record videos for this content to share here and on YouTube for the very first time. Ahhh!

I’ll be posting here as well and if I can manage it, linking those videos into my blog so you can watch if you prefer to reading. Otherwise, I’ll be summarising those videos in written format. Of course, if you consume a lot of content on YouTube already, you can follow me there to keep up with my videos when they are released before I share them here. 

That’s all from me this week! I’m excited to get back into the swing of things and also enjoy putting myself out of my comfort zone and making new forms of content in 2026. 

Thanks for reading today’s Sunday Summary update. Have you started any new reads for 2026? 

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Book Review: Death Magnanimous – Michael Martin

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In today’s post, I’m sharing my thoughts on a book due to be published at the beginning of next month. It is the first book I’ve downloaded from Netgalley, that isn’t for a blog tour, for a very long time!

The cover caught my eye, and then the synopsis grabbed my attention! I’m glad I decided to browse the site and then download a copy of this book, because I really enjoyed it.

I will disclose here and now that the book deals with some difficult themes. The protagonist suffers from significant burns after a plane crash that he later wished ended his life. He tackles chronic pain, and so his intentions are to finish what the accident started.

 

Death Magnanimous – Michael Martin

Genre: Literary fiction

Audience: Adult

Publisher:

Publication Date: 01 Jul 2023

Rating: 🌟🌟🌟🌟

 

 

 

Synopsis

Burned beyond recognition in an accidental fire, a prominent attorney seeking assisted suicide must decide if the life he can’t wait to end isn’t the life he’s been waiting to begin. 

A criminal defense attorney known for his entertaining and effective courtroom maneuvers, Charlie Chessman was piloting his four-seat airplane on a short hop so routine he could have done it blindfolded. But something went wrong, something so fast, so unexpected, he can only remember the smells from the fire and his screams in the wreckage, pleading with his lifesavers to let him die.

After months of reconstruction and recuperation, Charlie’s mind hasn’t changed. Left with limited mobility and agility, his only option is assisted suicide, an idea his sister Renee and wife Keri roundly oppose. But with Charlie’s persistence impossible to ignore, they hire Dr. Richard Fostris, a physician who specializes in ending, rather than saving, life.

The journey begins, to the one state where assisted suicide is legal for people without terminal illnesses. The state of Texas, and a law named for the country’s foremost quality-of-life advocate, burn survivor Dax Cowart, will legally allow Charlie to make the final call. But the trip isn’t easy, and for none of the reasons Charlie expects. He didn’t expect his care at the Jacobsen Burn Center to overwhelm him with admiration and respect. He didn’t expect his wife — whose candor, confidence, and humor had sustained him — to leave. He didn’t expect to fall in love again.

He wasn’t counting on the support he and his sister would provide each others’ unsteady lives. He never dreamed a caregiver might want him dead. He didn’t think he could rediscover his passions, for the law, for his peers, for defendants in need of quality counsel. The man who had convinced himself living was too hard never dreamed dying would be even harder.

 

My Thoughts

 

Plot

Death Magnanimous is a very personal story. It is one of the few books I have read recently that is very character driven as opposed to plot driven. However, that’s not to say that there aren’t some really good plot points in the book!

Protagonist Charlie was previously a lawyer before his accident. Some of this comes into play in the narrative. I also enjoyed how this is relevant in a slightly more subtle way. At one point in the book, there is a bit of a mystery that affects Charlie directly, and I enjoyed how it unravels. I feel its inclusion gives those who enjoy a plot driven story something to invest into and try to work out for themselves.

There are also some subtle clues about some of the characters hidden in the narrative. I can’t say I picked up on all of them, but I did note the odd peculiarity here and there… and eventually the pieces finally slotted together!

Another niche angle I enjoyed, courtesy of the protagonists links to the legal world, relate to the laws in the US surrounding treatment in his scenario. The book makes no secret of the fact that Charlie wished to be allowed to die. However, there are various laws in the US that determine if and when patients have sufficient capacity to refuse treatment. Those laws meant that Charlie was treated, against his will. The book explores the reasons that he wasn’t deemed to have capacity to refuse (burn victims suffer a lot of pain, and this is believed to cloud judgement). It also shares what variations there are to that rule in different jurisdictions. Naturally, it’s not something I’ve ever really considered before.

 

Characters

Death Magnanimous is a very personal story of the experiences and suffering Charlie endures after his accident. It is a story of a man trying to learn how to live his life after it has been turned upside down. He is no longer able to live independently. Any small health set back to you and I could mean death for him. Simple tasks, such as bathing, are excruciatingly painful experiences.

Charlie wants to end that suffering, and goes out of his way to explore his options that won’t implicate his family or anyone else in his decision. Through the other characters (in similar circumstances) we meet in the book, we share their struggles and see the outcome of their decisions.

Whilst the majority of the story is told from Charlie’s perspective, we have the odd chapter from other perspectives, which add depth and world-building to the peripheries of Charlie’s life. My personal preference is to read books from multiple perspectives, so I enjoyed these being interwoven into the story. They also help us see Charlie in a different light. It’s fair to say that each of the characters within the book are biased in some way (as we all are), piecing all of these together helps us get an overall more objective understanding of Charlie.

 

Narrative Style

Although the book has some darker themes, there is plenty of humour and wit throughout. I found this made an excellent balance to the overall tone of the book. Generally speaking, the narrative is really easy to read. The chapters flow nicely and are a good length each.

Chapters in the book are split between two timelines. The first of these is immediately around and after the plane crash that changes Charlie’s life forever. The second perspective is also from Charlie, however, he has undergone most of his treatment after the crash and is out of hospital.

The structure of splitting these two timelines and then interspersing them with each other works really well. It would make sense of the earlier timelines chapters are a bit sporadic. Charlie wouldn’t have been lucid for quite some time after his accident. He has experienced major trauma, and so having a solid block of narrative from him at this time wouldn’t really make sense. Equally, looking at it from the other side, going back and reminiscing on those chapters helps us to understand Charlie’s perspective.

 

Summary

Death Magnanimous is not a book for the fainthearted.However, I think it is an important one to pick up if you are interested in the moral aspect of euthanasia and treatment… or if you enjoy a very personal character driven story.

 

 

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Sunday Summary – 25th September 2022

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Good evening everyone! It’s the end of yet another week and here we are with another Sunday Summary update post. I don’t know about you, but things are starting to feel very autumnal now. It’s coming towards my favourite time of year – I can justify cozying in with a good cup of tea, a slice of cake, and a book. Not that I needed any excuse before like…

The changing of the season has come just in time. On Tuesday, I shared a Top Ten Tuesday post, in which I featured my top ten books to read in autumn. On that list, I have a number of books I have been meaning to read for some time, together with a couple of new ones. If you haven’t checked out that post already, there is a handy link above.

Later in the week, it was the turn of my Shelf Control regular feature. In that post, I featured a book that is on my September TBR. When I drafted the post, I hadn’t started the book as yet. However, I suspected that by the time it went live, I would be reading it – and I was right!

 

Books Read

I’m actually really pleased with this week’s reading progress. I’m going to be honest with you and say that when I shared my September TBR, I already felt defeated before I started. If you have seen that TBR post, you’ll know that I’m taking part in Bookoplathon. It is a game based on Monopoly, and I ended up really unlucky in my game. I ended up with three extra rolls, which means three extra books on my reading list this month. I had anticipated maybe one extra, but reading eight books in a month isn’t really achievable for me. That said, I have read quite a lot this week alone.

 

In Case You Missed It

As of last week’s Sunday Summary update, I was on my third book of the month, and coincidentally about a third of the way through it. I had DNF’d my previous read, and my first book was nothing special either. In Case You Missed It is not the type of book that I would’ve picked up without recommendation. I wasn’t entirely sure what I was going to think of it, but I was very pleasantly surprised.

As you are probably aware, Monday was a bank holiday here as it was the Queen’s funeral. I ended up watching quite a bit of the funeral, but also made time for reading. I ended up finishing In Case You Missed It on Monday. I read about 250 pages alone that day! What can I say, I really got into the book. The writing style is easy to digest and the events and characters are hilarious. It was exactly what I needed and I’m really glad I picked this up – so thanks for the recommendation Mum!

 

Treacle Walker

Next, I read a very short book that was not on my September TBR. I had been loaned this book by the CEO of the company I work for. He had enjoyed reading it and he wanted to know what I thought of it. Treacle Walker is only about 150 pages, and it was a very trippy, quick read. I really enjoyed it, even though I wasn’t entirely sure what was going on all of the time. I wanted to read this quite quickly as I know that this book was going to be passed on to somebody else after me.

 

Dark Matter

Next, I moved on to the next book on my TBR, and now my current read, Dark Matter by Blake Crouch. This is a bit of a twisty narrative, and I have no idea what is going on, albeit for different reasons to Treacle Walker! However, I am also really enjoying this one. There is a lot to unpick and it is going to take a while for me to work out what is what.

As of this post, I am exactly 20% through Dark Matter. I cannot wait to continue reading and update you in next week’s Sunday Summary post with more of my thoughts and progress!

 

Ordinary Heroes

Lastly, I started listening to Ordinary Heroes by Joseph Pfeifer. If you are unfamiliar with this book, it is the story of the first FDNY Chief on the scene of the 9/11 terrorist attack. I only started listening to this yesterday and I’m just a fraction off being halfway through already. I’m absolutely rattling through this one as it’s a really interesting read.

I quite enjoy listening to non-fiction – I find it easier to take the information in sometimes. Ordinary Heroes is a very easy listen. It is also quite a harrowing tale (but that goes with the subject). I have already learned things about the incident that I didn’t know from media coverage. As I am making very quick progress with it, I’m hoping to finish this within the next couple of days.

 

Books Discovered

No news is good news here this week. I haven’t added any books to the reading list, and I’ve actually just picked a couple off the list that I have changed my mind over. Nothing exciting to report here…

 

Coming Up…

On Tuesday, I am sharing my book review of Harry Potter and the Chamber of Secrets by J. K. Rowling. Before we get into the month-end wrap-up and reading list for October, I wanted to share another review with you.

I have quite a back-list, and it was good to pin my thoughts down on this second book of the series. I decided to re-read these books as an adult to see how they differed from my initial impression of reading them as a teenager. If you want to find out my thoughts, check out that post on Tuesday!

On Saturday, I will be sharing my month and wrap-up post. Normally I would post on a Friday, but as Friday is the very last day of the month, I could make further reading progress. So, to make sure I cover the whole month in my wrap-up, I will be sharing this post on Saturday instead.

That’s everything from me in today’s Sunday Summary post!

What have you been reading this week?

 

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