Tag: monthly wrap up

Monthly Wrap-Up – November 2022

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Somehow we are already into the final month of 2022, and that can only mean that it is time for my monthly wrap-up post for November!

I read quite a few books in November. All in all, it has been a very productive month. I took part in a couple of blog tours early on, and then went on to work my way through my whole reading list. That is something I haven’t achieved for a long time!

Let’s dive into the books I read in November!

 

Warrior and Protector

Rating: 🌟🌟🌟🌟

Goodreads

My first book of the month was Warrior and Protector by Peter Gibbons.

This was the first read as I had a fairly imminent blog tour deadline to meet. That said, it was an incredibly easy read to pick up and enjoy. I read this in just a handful of days. If you enjoy books like Bernard Cornwell’s the Saxon stories, or anything set in 10th century England, I’d recommend this one highly.

I really enjoyed the character development in this particular book. It has a perspective that you wouldn’t necessarily expect from a book of this kind. If you want to find out more, you can check out my full review here.

 

Warrior of Mercia

Rating: 🌟🌟🌟🌟

Goodreads

The next book I picked up was very similar in setting but was part of a series that I started earlier this year. I have been really enjoying the Eagle of Mercia Chronicles by MJ Porter.

When I received the invite to take part in the tour for Warrior of Mercia, I knew I would be daft not to take it up! The plot lines of these books are full of action, but equally do not script on character development either.

For entirely different reasons to Warrior and Protector, the protagonist of his book makes an interesting character in terms of his motivations. He is a dutiful young man, but his heart isn’t really in being a warrior. If you want to find out more, again, I have a full review where you can find out more.

 

Babel

Rating: 🌟🌟🌟🌟🌟

Goodreads

It was nice to pick up and be able to stick with Babel by R.F. Kuang. With my ongoing blog tour commitments, I was picking up and putting this down quite a bit. However, once all my obligations were over and done with, I read this book very quickly.

I really enjoyed how this book delves into language and translation. Although it is a fantasy fiction novel, it reads quite academically. The story is cleverly interwoven with the fantasy element, but also combines more serious topics including racism, colonialism, and even classism. To an extent, Babel was everything I expected it to be – however it was also so much better!

 

Malice

Rating: DNF

Goodreads

Malice by John Gwynne is the one disappointment in my monthly wrap-up for November. I have owned my copy of this book for a very, very long time. I attempted to pick it up once somewhere in the region of 2016. However, as this pre-dates both my blog and my Goodreads account, I can’t pinpoint exactly when I started it.

Unfortunately, the fact that I didn’t make it much further than the third chapter back then should have told me everything I needed to know. I gave this a solid attempt, but I just wasn’t getting into it at all. After three days of pushing through the first 50 odd pages, I decided to hang this one up. There was absolutely no point in trying to struggle on with it. I knew I was onto a good reading streak, and I didn’t want to spoil it.

It’s not the end of the world. Yes, it is a shame when you don’t enjoy a book as much as you would like. However, thinking on the bright side, I have enough ongoing series as it is without adding another one!

 

Dear Child

Rating: 🌟🌟🌟🌟

Goodreads

Next, I decided to pick up a genre that I haven’t read very much of lately – psychological thriller.

I had wanted to read a book like this in my October TBR. However, I didn’t get around to it. I recently featured Dear Child in my Autumn TBR post. The synopsis has been playing on my mind ever since. Given that I already owned a copy of the book ready to pick up, it was a no brainer decision.

And this was a fantastic psychological thriller. For me, I determine a book like this to be a hit if I’m thinking about it even when I’m not reading. If I’m trying to work through who the characters are, and determine what potential motives and hidden plot twists there are yet to unveil, that’s a very good sign! Of course, I was doing it with Dear Child.

Another good indicator is how quickly I managed to read this book. I started it on a Sunday morning and finish it by Thursday the following week.

 

The Motivation Code

Rating: 🌟🌟🌟🌟🌟

Goodreads

Having worked my way through my November TBR at this point, it took me a while to decide what to read next. I hadn’t even considered my December TBR at this point, so I was at a bit of a loss. In the end, I turned to my recent TBR additions for some inspiration. I found The Motivation Code.

I recently took the online assessment that accompanies this book, and I wanted to find out what my results really meant. And in that way, this has been an insightful read. Some of the results I got were to an extent, a surprise. However, having read about these different motivation codes, I can see myself in them 100%. They go a good way to explaining why I like to work in certain settings, and equally importantly, how I like to work. I don’t necessarily just mean employment. I mean as in how I operate. How I do things. 

The book is also useful in that it highlights where there may be gaps in your skill set. For example, one of my top three motivators is to explore. That means I am good at delving into new things and starting many projects (hardly shocking news to anyone who knows me). However, one of my downfalls is that I might try to take on too many things and lose focus on what I’ve already started. I am the kind of person who, at times, needs to be re-focused away from the ‘new and interesting’. I can do this myself, but it is something I need to consciously do.

Reading The Motivation Code has helped me understand who I am and why I think it act the way I do. It is one thing to know it subconsciously, but to read this book and bring it to the forefront enables me to work on the elements of my personality that aren’t necessarily positive.

 

Queen of Our Times

Current Read

Goodreads

I haven’t really made much progress with Queen of Our Times this month. I started the month with every intention to pick up and listen to this audiobook more regularly. However, I will be completely honest and say that I haven’t done it.

Quite often, I’m in the mood to listen to music. Especially so this month, as Dermot Kennedy released his new album and I’ve been listening to it on repeat since it was released mid-month. I have no shame.

Also, I have been making more of an effort to watch more TV this month. As you are probably aware, I’m A Celebrity Get Me Out of Here has just been on and I really enjoyed watching it! However, for me, watching a show like that is a commitment. My TV doesn’t go on that much, and certainly not as regularly as I’ve needed to keep up with the show. That’s also impacted on my time to listen to audiobooks.

This is a book that will rollover into December.

 

So, those are the books I’ve been reading throughout the month of November. Technically, I also started the first book of my December TBR on the 29th of November. However, I’m not giving any spoilers as to what that book is. Instead, you’ll have to check out my TBR going live on Saturday!

I hope you’ve enjoyed my monthly wrap-up post. Have you read any of the books on this list? Have any of them caught your eye?

Let me know in the comments, and until next time, happy reading!

 

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Monthly Wrap-Up – November 2021

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Good evening and welcome to today’s monthly wrap-up post!

It’s official – we are in the last month of the year! How crazy is that? Much the same as last year, this one seems to have flown even quicker than normal. I don’t exactly know how that is but I won’t question it.

However, at the end of the month means it’s time to go over what I’ve been reading and sharing with you throughout November. So, let’s get into it!

 

Books Read

At the end of my previous monthly wrap-up post I was part way through reading Million Eyes II by C. R. Berry. I had signed up for a couple of log tours that both coincided in November. Million Eyes II was the first of these tours. Given that my post was due quite early in November, I started to read this in October. Needless to say, I finished this at the beginning of November in anticipation of my blog tour review.

Next I picked up and read The Warden by Jon Richter. This is the second book I had agreed to review as part of a blog tour and this post or shared roughly a week after the first. I had a reasonably quick turnaround to get this read but honestly, it was so easy! I thoroughly enjoyed reading both of these books and even taking part in the blog tours. Some people don’t like reviewing to a deadline and whilst I don’t have it all the time, it did make a change for me. There are links to both of those posts down below if you want to find out more about the books!

Finally, I returned to Words of Radiance by Brandon Sanderson. I had started reading this prior to having to put this down in favour of my blog tour reading. But I had only just started this, mind you, so it wasn’t a hardship in the slightest. I have since gone back to this day and I have read around 20% of the book. It doesn’t seem like a lot I know… but that and equates to around 2/3 of one of the previous books again. Words of Radiance is over 1000 pages long end so you can see I have made some progress, but I also have a long way to go!

I have been far more successful in terms of listening to audiobooks this month than I am generally. As of last week’s monthly wrap-up post I only had a couple of hours worth of The Hanging Tree by Ben Aaronovitch left. I really enjoyed going back to this series (as it had been awhile since I listened to the previous one); this didn’t take long to get through!

A short time later I started to listen to Traitor’s Blade by Sebastien de Castell. This is the first book I’ve picked up from this author and can I say I’m glad I have! I’m really enjoying the narrative and the audiobook is a nice easy listen. Whether I’m knitting or doing some Pilates (a reasonably new venture for me to try and improve my health a bit), I can listen to this at the same time and it is a wonderful accompaniment/distraction! I have listened to a lot of this towards the end of the month and I feel sure that in next months monthly wrap-up post I’ll be telling you that this is finished.

 

Blog Posts

I like to recap the blog posts I’ve published over the course of the month in my monthly wrap up posts. That way, if you have missed any of my content and see something you like the look of, you will find a handy link here!

That’s all from me in today’s wrap-up post for November; What have you been reading, or do you have any recommendations for me? I’d love to hear from you if you do!

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Monthly Wrap-Up – October 2021

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Hello everyone and welcome to today’s wrap up post for October!

I cannot believe it is November already, but here we are. We are fast approaching the end of the year and it will be here before we know it! But, we’re not quite there yet and today’s post is not to dwell on that. Instead, let’s take a look at what I’ve been reading over the last month and what blog posts I’ve shared with you.

 

Books Read

The first book I picked up this month was Red Rising by Pierce Brown. Having just attempted to read Girl, Woman, Other by Bernadine Evaristo and DNF’ing the book, I wanted to fall back on something I knew I’d love to keep motivation. When trying to decide what to read next I remembered featuring Red Rising in a recent blog post. Having really enjoyed what I read about the book as part of that post, I decided to pick this up. Science-fiction is one of my favourite genres and I’m reading a lot more of it now than I ever have before. I’m pleased to say it didn’t disappoint!

Red Rising was far more that I could have hoped for. I expected a science-fiction blend with dystopia, and that is what I got, but the narrative went in a completely different direction to what I expected; and I really enjoyed it! It definitely kept me interested in reading and it was the pick-up I needed after the disappointment of Girl, Woman, Other.

Next, I started to read Words of Radiance by Brandon Sanderson. Again, I wanted to stick with a well-known and loved author and series. I read the first book of the series, The Way of Kings, approximately two years ago now. The wait in between these books has been deliberate as Brandon Sanderson is only part way through publishing the series. That said, I didn’t want to leave it too late to pick up this next book and I’m glad I didn’t leave it longer.

I will admit that it took me a little while to get into the narrative and recall the events of the previous book. These bad boys are dense and it has probably taken nearly all of the 11% of the book read so far for me to fully get back into it. I am pleased to say I am; but this is a long one and so as of the end of the month this is still a read in progress.

The reason Words of Radiance is still a read in progress and currently on the back burner is because I needed to pick up Million Eyes II – the Unraveller by C. R. Berry. I have an upcoming blog tour post next week and for that post I am reviewing this second instalment to the Million Eyes series. As of the end of the month I had only just started to read this, so not much progress to record on this one here. However, you’ll find more details firstly in my blog post next week, but also I’ll talk about this a little bit more in my monthly wrap-up for November.

In addition to these books I also started to listen to audiobooks again. I have a bit of a start/stop relationship with audiobooks and lately I’ve been back on the case. I’ve been listening to The Hanging Tree by Ben Aaronovitch and as of the end of the month I only have a couple of hours left to listen to. I’ve really enjoyed the story and considering it’s been a few months since I last picked up the series, it’s been incredibly easy to delve back into; certainly a lot easier than Words of Radiance… But they are a lot shorter and less dense so that’s not difficult!

 

Blog Posts

As always, I like to take the opportunity in these posts to recap the blog posts I’ve published over the course of the month. That way, if you have missed any of my content and see something you like the look of, you will find a handy link here!

 

That’s all for me in today’s monthly wrap-up post for October.

What good books you have picked up, or is there even something you’re currently reading that you would recommend? Let me know in the comments!

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Monthly Wrap-Up – September 2021

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Hello everyone and welcome to today’s wrap up post for September 2021.

I feel like I’ve achieved a good balance in both reading and other hobbies. For the most part, I’ve been enjoying the books I’ve picked up and I’ve been doing so at a pace that suits me!

 

Books Read

As of my last monthly wrap-up post, I was halfway through Harry Potter and the Order of the Phoenix. I’m pleased to say that I went on to finish this before we were halfway through the month, so pretty quickly. Although it’s the longest book of the series I didn’t let that daunt me in anyway. On the contrary, I was looking forward to picking this up each and every time!

After reading this I decided to pick up something different. I’d been recommended The Lion, the Witch and the Wardrobe by C.S.Lewis to read by my boss at work. I’m obviously familiar with the story, but I’ve never picked up the book itself. I managed to borrow a copy of this electronically from my library and I read it all in one sitting. That wasn’t particularly the plan, but it just worked out that way! Needless to say, I definitely enjoyed it (despite the slightly sexist views of the author dropped in… and not so subtlety).

After that I struggled a little to choose what my next reach should be. I wanted something different again, and so I turned to a genre that I pick up rarely – non-fiction. One of the earliest books on my TBR to read was The Subtle Art of Not Giving a F*ck by Mark Manson. I picked this up with enthusiasm and I didn’t take long to read this either! Whilst it’s not a genre I pick up often I admonish myself for that fact. I really do need to pick it up more often and the fact that I enjoyed this book so much is testament to that. Even if you think you have nothing to learn about yourself, you should challenge yourself on that because books like that prove to you that’s not the case at all.

Open till this point I was making really good progress. But alas, I fell a little flat at the end.

The next book I picked up was Girl, Woman, Other by Bernadine Evaristo. I was loaned a copy of this book by my friend who has also read it recently. I really wanted to like it. Truly, I did. I like the idea of it, however, in the practical sense the narrative style and the characters were not working for me at all. I’m sorry to say that I wasn’t enjoying reading this, and that’s ultimately why I made the decision to DNF this. There’s no point trying to force myself to read something if I’m not enjoying it. And it’s not like I didn’t give this a chance either. Whatever it was, this just wasn’t working for me.

Don’t worry though, I haven’t lost my mojo! The reading progress that comes next will fall into next month’s monthly update, but all is well; I haven’t been put off.

Blog Posts

Over the last month I’ve shared a variety of blog posts with you. If you have missed any of my content and see something you like the look of, you will find a handy link here!

 

That’s all from me in today’s wrap up post for September.

What good books you have picked up, or is there anything you’re currently reading that you would recommend? Let me know in the comments!

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Monthly Wrap-Up – August 2021

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After just over a week’s break from blogging to spend time with family, I’m back with my monthly wrap-up for August 2021. I appreciate this might feel a little late. Normally I would have shared this last week, but as my sister and her boyfriend were over visiting I decided to take the whole week off so I could enjoy my time with them fully!

However, I am back now and raring to go! I feel really good about the progress I made last month in terms of reading. Picking up a book is becoming a habit again. This has been a benefit to me; I can’t overstate how important it is to take time out for yourself. After a record reading year, as well as moving house and studying for work, I was done. It’s very easy to overlook maintaining a healthy balance – and I’ll be the first to admit that I didn’t do this last year. I scaled back this year to avoid burnout. The fact that I’m coming back and reading more regularly is a good sign that this has been effective.

 

Books Read

August‘s reading has been dominated by Harry Potter. Not only did I finish the fourth instalment of the series, Harry Potter and the Goblet of Fire, but I also made significant progress with the fifth book, Harry Potter and the Order of the Phoenix.

If you’ve picked up or read either of these books, you’ll know they’re both chunky. As of the end of the month I was around halfway through HP and the Order of the Phoenix. That in its own right can equate to one or two books! It is a long one, but picking it up hasn’t been a challenge. Not only do I find the books really easy to read, but I don’t find their size intimidating. Maybe it’s because I’ve read them before, or because big books are my bag!

So it may not look like much progress on paper. But, given my recent track record, I’m really happy with how I’m progressing. In recent months picking up a book was something I had to do consciously. That might sound daft because I always do it consciously, but I had less motivation to do so. I wouldn’t say I quite had to talk myself into it, but it wasn’t a first instinct when asked what I wanted to do. Not only is that back, but I’m currently able to balance that with some other hobbies I’ve picked up along the way.

If you know me personally or follow me on Instagram, you may have seen the odd post here in there about knitting. In the absence of reading I’ve taken up this hobby. As you will see, I’ve come along way in a short space of time. For a time I think knitting became my substitute for reading. I needed something new and I do like a challenge! Now my interests are shifting to allow for both hobbies to coincide with each other… and that’s the kind of balance I like to see and I hope will continue! Here is my latest post on my Instagram feed me to give you an idea of the sort of things I’m doing right now: 

Blog Posts

In my monthly wrap-up posts I also like to share the blog posts that I have written and published during them up. That way, if you have missed any of my content and see something you like the look of, you will find a handy link here!

In addition to reading this month, I’ve also shared the following: – 

That’s all for me in today’s monthly wrap-up post for August.

Are there any good books you have picked up, or is there even something you’re currently reading that you would recommend? Have you picked up any new hobbies recently? Let me know in the comments!

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Monthly Wrap-Up – July 2021

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Hello everyone! I’m back with another monthly wrap-up post. Honestly, where is this year going? I’m not kidding you when I say that as part of the social committee at work I’m starting to make preparations for the big party event at the end of the year (you know the one) and it doesn’t feel like it should be coming round this quickly. But, it is, whether I think it should be or not!

This is my seventh monthly wrap-up, having started taking this approach at the beginning of the year as opposed to sharing a TBR at the beginning of the month. I’ve enjoyed the change of pace and having the flexibility to pick up what I want and when I want. Not only has this suited me was taking a step back, but it also proved not to be a hindrance getting back into it. And it’s fair to say compare to recent months, I’m back in the game. I’m really pleased with the amount of reading I’ve done over the last month, which you can find out below.

 

Books Read

The beginning of this month started with a number of short stories. I was taking part in blog tours for both Clarissa and Ruabon by Karl Drinkwater. In part, I think having the deadlines for each of these helped encourage me to pick up the books quickly, but also being quite short these were very easy to read a as well. I read and loved previous books of the series before, so I was confident these are a safe bet when I signed up for them.

Starting with these two definitely helped motivate me, because I then picked up a short story that I was loaned by our CEO. He is also an avid reader and he wanted my thoughts on the particular book he recommended (and loaned) to me. I’d had it for a little while but as I hadn’t set aside time deliberately to read it, I found I would start it, put it down, not pick it up again for a bit and then consequently end up starting again. After reading two short stories already, I felt I was in the mood and that it was time to set aside time specifically for this book. Not that it took long. I read this within a couple of days too – my reading streak was definitely a record for this year at that point already.

After reading these three short stories, and generally feeling good about my progress, I decided to pick up something a little longer. Having looked at my bookshelves for a bit, and even trying a couple of chapters on a kindle book that I’ve DNF’d before (but then decided against for the sake of preserving my newfound motivation), I decided to pick up The Taking of Annie Thorne by C. J Tudor. I had read and loved a previous book of hers, The Chalk Man, and so I felt it was a reasonably safe bet. This decision paid off as well because I loved this book! It was everything I expected and utterly enthralling. I don’t think I could have chosen better.

And still, after all these books, I’m not quite done. My next read was Harry Potter and the Goblet of Fire by J. K. Rowling. I didn’t quite finish this before month-end, however, I was well over halfway. Given that this portion of the read was about as long as The Taking of Annie Thorne, I’m pleased with this progress! Another book I started and was (and still am) making progress on was Stock Investing for Dummies by Paul Mladjenovic. It’s not the sort of thing that I imagine is everyone’s cup of tea, but given that it loosely relates to my job role and I enjoy reading around the subject, I thought this would be a good place to start. Only got to around 20 odd percent of this one before month-end.

So, as you can see, I’ve definitely read a lot more than in previous months this year. At the end of last month, I set myself a goal to try and pick up reading more regularly again. I used to read nearly every night, but in taking a bit of a break this year, this scaled back quite a lot – maybe to once or twice a week at an absolute push! I’m still not reading every night now, but picking up a book is a more frequent occurrence, and long may that habit continue.

And after all that reading, I can’t forget the audiobook progress I’ve made this month as well! After several months, I finally finished listening to A Clash of Kings by George R. R. Martin. I really enjoyed listening to this as I love the series. I did, however, decide after finishing that audiobook that I needed a break from the series. So, I decided to listen to something completely new – A Suitable Lie by Michael J. Malone. As of the end of July, I was around a third of the way through this audiobook. It’s nowhere near as long as A Clash of Kings, and so progress should be a lot quicker.

 

Blog Posts

As always, I like to recap the posts I have shared over the last month so then if you happen to have missed any, you can check them out with a handy link from here! In addition to all this reading this month, I’ve also shared the following:

 

I hope you enjoyed today’s wrap-up post for July. I feel really good about the progress I’ve made over the last month and how I’m getting back into reading more often. Being able to give myself the freedom to pick up what I want and what I want is really suiting me – and encouraging me to get back into it more. I hope this bit of news excites you, as that means I’m going to have more bookish content to share with you in the long run.

Are there any good books you have picked up in the last month, or is there even something you’re currently reading that you would recommend? Let me know in the comments!

 

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Monthly Wrap Up – June 2021

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When I drafted my half-year review post last week, it hadn’t even occurred to me that it would make sense to post my June wrap up first. Still, here I am at last. It should be quite a quick one since June was a relatively quiet month for me. In addition to doing some other things this year, my sister also came to visit this month and so everything was pretty much put on hold for that. Was lovely to see her for the first time in 16 months and I can’t wait to be able to see her again!


Books Read

As I said above, this month’s progress has been reasonably quiet. In terms of reading, I have managed to read Shadow and Bone by Leigh Bardugo. As of last month’s wrap-up post, I had actually just started to read this and I finished this book in the last day of the month. It’s not a lot of progress, I will admit. However, as much as I enjoy reading, I don’t live for it and I’ve done plenty of other things with my time instead.

I’ve enjoyed the more relaxed pace of reading so far, but I’m definitely looking to start picking up more books over the next six months.

More audiobook progress has been made, however I am still (just) working through A Clash of Kings by George R. R.Martin. I only have a few hours left to listen to and I expect in next month’s update, I’ll be telling you that I finally got to the end of this one! Don’t get me wrong, I am really, really enjoying it – but it’s a long one! I think for my next one, I’m going to pick up something smaller.


Blog Posts

Thankfully, I’ve been a bit more active blogging that I have reading this month. So, I have plenty of posts to share with you and give you the opportunity to catch up if you have missed any: –

 

I hope you have enjoyed this month’s rather quick wrap-up post! As always, I really enjoy getting your feedback and I would love to hear about what you have been reading recently!

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Monthly Wrap-Up – May 2021

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I can’t believe I’m here writing my wrap-up post for May already, but here we are! This year seems to be absolutely flying by… even though I haven’t been up to much.

I’ve been enjoying the slower pace this year. I’ve definitely been enjoying the books I’m picking up more, but I’m also taking the time to enjoy other things as well – my crafting hobbies are going really well and I’m also making the most of being able to see friends and family. Nothing reminds you of how important this is than not being able to see them!

 

Books Read

In last month’s wrap-up post, I was nearly done with Fire and Blood by George R. R. Martin. That is an epic book and took a lot of my time. I’m pleased to say that I’ve been reading some slightly shorter books and so I’ve been making more progress (or at least it feels like it) with picking up new reads.

After finishing Fire and Blood, I started to read You Are Not So Smart by David McRaney. This is a psychology book and I really enjoyed the topics covered, looking into how I fall victim to some of these things and the humour included as well.

Next, I moved on to Harry Potter and the Prisoner of Azkaban. I’m really enjoying re-reading this series this year. I’ve known I’ve wanted to do it for quite some time but I wanted to finish my re-read of A Game of Thrones before I picked this up. The books are starting to get a little chunkier now and I’m really looking forward to delving into the more detailed, darker side of the story.

Last, but not least, I had just started to read Shadow and Bone by Leigh Bardugo at the end of the month. I’ve gotten to 10% in just one sitting and I’m looking forward to diving into this one over the course of the next month.

Audiobook progress has been a little slower. A Clash of Kings is a long audiobook and I’ve just been chipping away at the odd chapter here and there. As of last month’s update I was around 55% of the way through the audiobook – now I am at around 70%. That’s pretty good going, and with coming up to the end I may be able to make a push and finish this in time for next months wrap-up!

 

Blog Posts

As always, in these posts I like to summarise the blog posts I have shared over the last month. That way if you’ve missed any, you can easily catch up here. Here is a list of what I’ve shared below: –

I hope you have enjoyed this month’s wrap-up post! As always, I really enjoy getting your feedback and I would love to hear about what you have been reading recently!

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Monthly Wrap-Up – April 2021

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Hi guys and welcome to today’s monthly wrap up post for April! I can hardly believe it is May already – where is this year going?

This month’s post is only a short one by comparison as I’ve been focusing on some different things this month. Still, I really enjoyed the books I have been picking up – and more of those below: –

 

Books Read

 

This month has been a bit of a reading and listening fest for A Game of Thrones and George R. R. Martin. I’ve been reading Fire and Blood which is the prequel to the A Game of Thrones series and I’ve also been listening to A Clash of Kings, which is the second book of the main series.

I’ll hold my hands up and admit that I’ve not read as much as I would’ve liked to this month. Instead, I’ve ended up working on a lot more knitting. I had been making a birthday present for my dad at the beginning of the month and I finish this a few days ahead of time. After that I moved on to a project that I started in November last year and put on hold. I ended up getting a lot more done of this than I expected initially and in the last few days of April I was so close to finishing it that I just couldn’t leave it.

Still, Fire and Blood is a long book. I think when I picked it up this month I was about 250 odd pages in and as of the end of the month I had around 150 left (out of 700). If I’ve been reading shorter books and maybe I could be saying that I’d read a couple this month, but it is what it is and this is the only book I’ve been making progress on. Once I get this finished I’m going to try a lot harder to get more read.

In terms of progress with A Clash of Kings, I was around 20% through the audiobook in March is monthly wrap-up post. I’m now about 55% through and making good progress with this one. I definitely listen to audiobooks a lot less than I physically read and these are long ones as well. I’m actually really pleased with this progress and I look forward to carrying on with the book in the next month.

 

Blog Posts

Blogging has definitely been a lot more fun and enjoyable since I switched up my way of working last month. Posting is a lot easier as I’m not struggling with an ageing laptop and all in all, I’m just enjoying the process of it a bit more.

In case you missed any of my posts over the course of the month, you can find a list of what I’ve shared below: –

I hope you have enjoyed this month’s wrap-up post! Apologies it is only a short one, however, I feel like I’ve had a good break and the opportunity to enjoy some different things. I’m definitely looking to start picking up more books and get back on the reading bandwagon more next month. However, until then, I hope to see you around on the blog.

What books did you read in April?

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Monthly Wrap-up – March 2021

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Hello everyone and welcome to my March wrap-up post. When drafting my Sunday Summary post yesterday I completely forgot to mention this post coming up this week!

I’m enjoying writing these retrospective posts rather than a TBR post upfront. It means I can work at a more relaxed pace without the pressure of a list. So, without further pre-amble, here are the books I’ve been reading this month! 

 

Books Read

Most of this month has been spent reading The Book Thief by Markus Zusak on and off. It’s a long book at around 550 pages and I will admit that my reading did taper off in the early stages of this month. I think in part that has to do with some other hobbies, as well as the new lockdown. However, I did pick up more later on and I went on to finish this near the end of the month.

I picked up Fire and Blood by George R. R. Martin again in the very last few days of the month. Having finished The Book Thief and in general just getting back into reading a bit more habitually, I have taken this to bed and have also gotten out into the garden to enjoy a bit of a read. This is also a large book and taking on such a big read when you’re struggling with being in the mood for it is a challenge. That said, I’ve thrown myself back into it and I’m really looking forward to reading more of this in April!

I have been a bit better than usual on the audiobook front, as I have listened to The Toll by Neal Shusterman this month. Normally my audiobook progress is a lot slower than reading, however spending increased periods of time at home, I am able to play audiobooks on various devices I have around the house. Listening to them whilst I’m doing other jobs is very accessible. It’s also a good alternative I find to watching television if I am working on some craft – it means I can focus on my project and not the TV.

Once I finished listening to The Toll I must admit I felt a bit bereft that night. It was such a good audiobook and series and I had no idea what I could follow up with that would be just as good. I ultimately decided to listen to A Clash of Kings by George R. R. Martin. Not only are these books firm favourites, I also haven’t actually listened to them yet. I read them in every other format so far so why not complete the set? I listened to about 20% of the audiobook throughout the course of March and I will definitely be continuing this through into the next month.

 

Blog Posts

In the second half of March I feel like I have done better and certainly enjoyed blogging more. Without going into specifics I was having some technical issues with the laptop I’ve logged on and I’ve ultimately decided to change the way I block. That has been working out for me very well and I say they’re probably has been a slight increase in the number of posts I’ve been sharing. I’ve certainly been enjoying doing it more, if nothing else. In case you missed any of my posts over the course of the month, you can find a list of what I’ve shared below: –

 

I hope you have enjoyed this month’s wrap-up post! I’m keeping my fingers crossed that I will have plenty of news to share with you in next month’s wrap up post. However, until then, I hope to see you around on the blog.

What books did you read in March?

 

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