Tag: mystery

Sunday Summary – 8th September 2024

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Happy weekend folks and welcome back to the latest instalment in my regular Sunday Summary update posts.

I briefly returned to my three post schedule this week as I had both my monthly wrap-up for August and my monthly TBR for September to share with you.

As I wanted to get both you in good time, that meant I had to deliver this week. Thankfully, I’m feeling better after my illness last week and I’ve been able to fit both of those in alongside doing some study for work as well.

 

Books Read


Eruption

I had 155 pages of Eruption to finish, and I completed that in fairly good time this week. I wanted to get back to reading Eruption as soon as I was better; I’m sharing this book with Helen ahead of our book club meet later this month. If I’m honest, I had hoped to get it to her sooner, but sometimes that’s the way things go!

Ultimately, I rated this book 3 stars. It was a perfectly acceptable read and I enjoyed a lot of the information about volcanoes that is embedded within the narrative.


Undoctored

It turns out that I didn’t have a lot left of Undoctored left to listen to because I finished this very early on this week. There is a lot of bonus content at the end of the audiobook which admittedly I haven’t listened to. I quite often don’t in these scenarios.

I really enjoyed this book, and if you enjoyed his earlier works then you will definitely enjoy this follow-up too. Where previous books deal with his life as a junior doctor, Undoctored focuses far more on the end of his career as a doctor and moving on to his current career as a writer and comedian.

I rated Undoctored 4* and I’ll certainly be looking out for anything else he publishes in future!


The Lost Apothecary

As of my last Sunday Summary update I had just started The Lost Apothecary by reading the first chapter.

Admittedly, my focus has been on reading Eruption this week. However, I have read a further few chapters so I am now about 25% through this book. As I’ve got exactly a week left on my library loan now, The Lost Apothecary is my current read and will be my priority over the next few days.

What I’ve read already was done in quite a quick timeframe, so there shouldn’t take me too long to read overall!


Defiant

The last book I’ve started this week is Defiant by Brandon Sanderson. As I mentioned in my monthly TBR post yesterday, I’ve picked this up in audio format.

Even though I’ve read the prior books in the series physically, switching to audio has been seamless. I’ve enjoyed getting reacquainted with the world to see where we are going to go next. I’m not entirely sure where or how this narrative will go from here so I’m excited to listen more and watch this final instalment of the series play out.

I’ll be listening to more of this audio over the next week and I’ll be able to give you a better update next week’s Sunday Summary. I’m only an hour in as of this post. 


Books Discovered

Between keeping up with the blog this week, reading and studying for my upcoming exam in November I’ve not really been looking anywhere I would get a book recommendation. So, the reading list has had a week off of new additions!


Coming Up…

This week’s blog post schedule was an exception given the timing of August month-end. Next week I’m going back to one midweek post and another Sunday Summary so I’ve got more time to get back to studying for my exam.

Mid next week, I’m back with a book review for Dark Matter by Blake Crouch. For my thriller fans, this one is a five star recommendation for you. I hope you can check out this post!

Finally, I’ll be back with another Sunday Summary update this time next week. Find out which books I’ve read over the course of the week and any other personal updates.

Until next time, enjoy the rest of your weekend and I’ll see you around!

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Monthly Wrap-Up – August 2024

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Hello readers and welcome to this monthly wrap-up for August. I had a decent month of reading, and this post is about sharing what I read over the last month.

I had a couple of carryover’s from July, as well as a varied list for August. As usual now, I didn’t get to all the books I set for August – but I had a great time with the books I did read.

Let’s take a look!


Books Read


The Power of Habit

Picking up from last month’s monthly wrap-up post, I was 30% into The Power of Habit.

I really enjoyed this book, and I’m hoping I have some good take away knowledge from it. The book has great examples of the consequences of bad habits – personal, organisational and as a society. The key takeaway I have from the book is that you can often change a habit by making changes in a seemingly unrelated way and gradually introduce change from there.

I’m hoping this will help me build more good habits in my own life!


The Other People

In my Monthly TBR post I shared that I was nearly through this audiobook. I’d already listened to 80%, so this month I was hoping for a quick conclusion.

Mum loved and strongly recommended The Other People and having finished it, I get why. If you enjoy mysteries that keep you guessing all the way along, this is perfect. Even up until the very end I was still trying to put pieces together and work out character’s involvement in the story line.

The Other People is the third book I’ve read by C.J. Tudor, and I still have plenty to read!


The Midnight Library

For our first ever book club at work, we chose The Midnight Library by Matt Haig to read and discuss. For me it is a re-read, but I agree with some feedback from another member that it’s better second time around!

I re-read The Midnight Library very quickly. It’s only a short read – one of the reasons I recommended it to book club in the first place. At the same time, it raises plenty of discussion points; it doesn’t lack for content! Admittedly I did leave this a little last minute. I finished it the night before book club. I wasn’t the last though – Helen spent the first half hour of the meeting finishing it!


Eruption

I’ve prioritised picking up our next book club read, Eruption, as I’m sharing a physical copy with another member.

As of the end of August I was 65% into the book. I’ve started reading it again after my bout of covid (so as not to contaminate the book!) so as of drafting this monthly wrap-up I’m a little futther.

I hope to finish this soon so I can pass on to Helen ASAP.


Wolves of the Calla

A book I very briefly started, but ended up shelving temporarily, is Wolves of the Calla by Stephen King.

There is absolutely nothing wrong with the book and I fully intend to pick it up again soon. However, I started to read this right at the end of the month when I became unwell. I decided the time wasn’t ideal to pick up such a tome. When I’m back into the swing of things I’ll pick it up again.


Breathtaking

A short audiobook I enjoyed this month was Breathtaking by Rachel Clarke. Make no mistake, it’s an eye-opener.

I totally appreciate the book and subject may not be for everyone right now. However, I enjoyed listening to this perspective on the pandemic. I had no idea that care homes were so woefully under-supplied with PPE. What I also found interesting was Rachel’s (and colleagues) views of the advice being issued by the government. It is very much a view of too little and too late.

 

Undoctored

My last non-fiction to share with you in this monthly wrap-up is Undoctored by Adam Kay.

As of drafting this monthly wrap-up I have just finished the book this morning. You’ll get more thoughts on it in Sunday’s Sunday Summary update.

However, as a snapshot of where I was at month end, I was a couple of hours shy of completion.


Summary

I read quite a number of non-fiction books in August – more than average I’d say. However, given I was a little behind in my mid-year review on this goal, it’s a good change. I’m still slightly behind, but only by one book or so.

August was a good month of reading for subject diversity and I’m looking forward to an equally productive September. My reading list is coming out in the next day or so, so stay tuned!

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Sunday Summary – 1st September 2024

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Happy weekend everyone and welcome to this Sunday Summary update!

I hope you’ve had a great week? Mine could have been better if I’m honest – I’ve been unwell this week with the beloved covid. Whilst I’m feeling a lot better now, midweek I was feeling rough.

As a result, my reading and blogging has suffered a little this week. However, it’s more important to get well and I’m hoping to be back to normal tomorrow. Please! Whilst I’m lucky I can work from home, I hate it…

I had originally planned to share my Goodreads Was Wrong book tag post with you on Thursday. However, that got delayed until Friday whilst I recovered enough to have the inclination to write the post… And worked late Thursday didn’t help matters…


Books Read

All of my reading progress so far this week has been almost exclusively audio format. This is for a couple of reasons. Firstly, the beginning of the week was a bank holiday and I was out doing things versus being in normal routine and therefore more likely to pick up a book. Then I became unwell.

I’ve deliberately not picked up my main physical read carried over from last week, Eruption, because I am sharing this book with somebody. It might sound daft, but I’ve deliberately not picked it up because I don’t want to inadvertently pass covid on. I don’t know how long the virus can stay on surfaces, but I don’t want to find out the hard way…

I did try picking up Wolves of the Calla and the shorter and more gratifying The Adventures of Sherlock Holmes, instead, but without success. I’m only just starting to want to read again. I’ve been having a break – switching off playing games and watching TV for the last few days instead.


Undoctored

On the flipside, audiobook progress has moved on a good way this week. As of this Sunday Summary post, I am now just over halfway through Undoctored by Adam Kay.

The humour has been very helpful in the last few days in lightening the mood and keeping me company whilst doing monotonous work and working from home.

Adam Kay is very funny and I can’t recommend his books enough. I love his personal stories and cringey embarrassing moments that happen to us all, are highly amusing, and make me feel a bit more human.

I’m looking forward to continuing with this audio next week!


The Lost Apothecary

Whilst I’m waiting to pick up Eruption again, I’ve ultimately decided on picking up a light to read as my brain currently isn’t in the zone for heavy book. With this in mind, I have just started The Lost Apothecary by Sarah Penner.

I’ve only read the first chapter as of this post, but it’s been a good start and I think it’s just the right kind of book I need at the moment. I’ll update you more as I continue to read.


Books Discovered


I keep half an eye on Ezeekat’s Fable book club and I like the sound of this month’s book. Unfortunately I won’t be reading it as part of the club, but I am adding it to my TBR to read at a later date.


Coming Up…

We’re already into the month of September so next week I’ll be sharing my usual monthly posts. The first of those is my monthly wrap-up for August. In that post I’ll recap the books I read throughout August.

Next up is my monthly TBR for September. I did provisionally make a note of some books I intended to read in September when I put together my August TBR. Otherwise, I have absolutely no idea what I plan to pick up!

Truthfully, if I picked up my carryovers from August and the books I pencilled in before I would have a solid reading list. However, I feel like a change up – so anything goes. You’ll find out later this week what I decide!

As always, I’ll be back this time next week with another Sunday Summary post to update you on the books I’ve read, those I’ve added to the reading list and lastly, what’s coming up on the blog.

Until then, I hope you have a great week and I will see you around!

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Sunday Summary – 11th August 2024

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Good evening fellow readers and welcome to my Sunday Summary update for this week. I have a great week of reading progress and content sharing to cover with you. As regular readers will know, I always like to recap those before diving into the reads I picked up this week. Let’s take a look at those now.

My first post of the week was a book review of Golden Son by Pierce Brown. I’d originally held off reviewing the book as I had mixed feelings about it. My review was originally meant to go live on Wednesday but I ended up taking an extra day to edit and perfect it.

My next post went live on Friday and that was a Shelf Control post. In that post, I featured a young adult magical fantasy sequel that I really need to pick up soon. It’s been a while since I started the series, let’s just say that…


Books Read


The Power of Habit

Reading progress on The Power of Habit started strong earlier this week. Over the course of the first half of the week I read another 80 pages, bringing me to around 180 in total.

I ended up temporarily putting this aside for another book as I need to have read that second one by Tuesday next week. As soon as that’s done I’ll be back to reading and finishing The Power of Habit.


The Other People

This week I made the final push on The Other People and finished this audiobook on Monday. In reality I had less to read before the end than I expected as the audiobook had a sample of another book on the end.

I enjoyed this story and how it all unfolded. I understand completely why The Other People is a favourite of mum’s. The storyline is gripping and full of revelations. I had a theory there was one more revelation to come about the Samaritan, and it became apparent who he was at the end!

If you enjoy mysteries or thrillers, I can strongly recommend The Other People.


Breathtaking

After completing The Other People I started listening to Breathtaking by Rachel Clarke.

A non-fiction about the Covid-19 pandemic may not be up everyone’s alley right now. I’m sure it feels far too raw for some, but I was ready to read this hands-on experience.

Rachel is a hospice nurse who ends up volunteering to help in Covid-19 wards at her local hospital. In the 60% of the audio I’ve listened to so far, we see her and other medical professional’s perspective of the pandemic unfolding and how the NHS transforms to meet the crisis head on.

I’m really enjoying this audio so far. The fact I’ve listened to so much in one week testifies that! I hope to finish this over the next week, so stay tuned to see if I do.


The Midnight Library

I’ve temporarily put The Power of Habit on hold so I can re-read The Midnight Library ahead of book club on Tuesday. As of this Sunday Summary I’m 148 pages, or 51% through. 

As I’ve already read the book before it’s been a breeze so far. I had also been told it’s better second time around, and so far I agree!

I have more to read before that chat on Tuesday with my work colleagues, so I’m going to spend less time talking about it here so I can get back to reading it 😊 I’ll give you the details in next week’s Sunday Summary. 


Books Discovered

I’m on a good run here as I haven’t bought any books or added anything to my reading list in about a month now! Given that last haul was about 14 books though, I still have some way to go on the buying ban yet!


Coming Up…

Mid next week I intend to share my first post of the week. In that post, I’ll be collating my favourite books to recommend to readers and why!

On Friday I’ll be back with a First Lines Friday post! I’m not setting myself any particular goal or challenge for this post. I’m keeping it entirely open so I have full freedom of choice on the book I select.

Last, but not least, I’ll be back with another Sunday Summary update this time next week. Find out where I’m up to with my latest reads in that post!

Until then, have a fabulous week however you spend it and I look forward to seeing you in the next one!

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Sunday Summary – 4th August 2024

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Good evening folks and welcome to this Sunday Summary weekly update. I hope you’ve had a good week and weekend? Yesterday was a beautiful day here, but it couldn’t be more opposite today. Ideal for a day of staying in and reading… but alas I’ve been busy!

This week I’ve also been busy catching you up on my reading progress in July, as well as sharing my planned reading list for August. Have you read any of the books on this month’s TBR? Take a look and find out.


Books Read


The Power of Habit

My main read of the week was The Power of Habit by Charles Duhigg. As of my last Sunday Summary I had only just started the book. I’ve only read 100 pages or so this week, but it’s a good read so far.

I like how this book breaks down habits by individual, corporate and societal level. This week I completed the personal section and I’m a good way into the corporate element of the book.

What I’ve read so far has given me food for thought on how I can make changes where I want to in my life. This book still has plenty to offer and I’ll be reading more of that in the next week.


The Other People

I’ve made a solid 35%-40% progress in listening to The Other People this week.

As of this Sunday Summary I’m now 85% done. With just over an hour and forty minutes of listening time left, I think I’ll finish this book in the next day or so!

So far I’ve loved the storyline and how the different story threads have come together. I feel like there’s still time for a shock revelation or extra connection to be revealed, but we’ll see if that actually happens or not. I have a theory but whether it comes to anything or not is to be revealed…


Books Discovered

The best kind of news is that there is none! I’ve not added anything new to my reading list this week.

I’ve not exactly taken anything off via completions either, but I have made progress closer towards that so we’re moving in the right direction!


Coming Up…

It’s been a while since I shared my thoughts on a book. With this in mind, the first post I intend to share with you next week will be a book review. In next week’s review, I feature Golden Son by Pierce Brown.

Friday’s regular feature is a Shelf Control post. Those of you who are regular readers will know that this series is where I feature upcoming books on my reading list. This week, I’ll feature the sequel to a YA magical fantasy series I started over 6 years ago!

My final post of the week is my usual wrap-up of the week – Sunday Summary.

I hope you can join me for any or all of these posts. Until next time, have a great week!

What are you reading?

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Monthly Wrap-Up – July 2024

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It’s the beginning of another month and I’m here to share which books I’ve read throughout July in this monthly wrap-up. If you want to see which books I set out to read at the beginning of the month, you can find a link to my monthly TBR for July here.

I’m happy with the progress I’ve made and that I’ve been able to spend the month catching up with some of my June reads. A good portion of my July TBR was dedicated to picking up books I hadn’t got to yet, or I was partway through at the start of the month.

Shall we take a more detailed look?


Books Read


Master of Sorrows

In my last monthly wrap-up post, I had three ongoing reads that I shared with you. The first of those was Master of Sorrows. I started this book last month but ended up setting it aside as I inadvertently left the book at work a few evenings. Then, I deliberately decided to hold off making progress on it for a week or so as I went on holiday and took a lighter read with me.

As of that last monthly wrap-up I was 45% into the book. I still had a good few hundred pages to go until completion though.

I made good progress with this book throughout July. Admittedly, I’ve not long finished this book, but that’s because I was taking my time with it. I’m now excited to pick up the sequel, Master Artificer.

 

You Coach You

The audiobook I carried over from my last monthly wrap-up post was You Coach You by Helen Tupper and Sarah Ellis. In that post, I shared that I was 60% into the audio.

You Coach You is a great book for anybody looking to develop themselves. I enjoyed the experience so much that I have since acquired a physical copy of this book. I can see myself referring back to it time and again and I want to make it accessible for me to do so.

A big selling point on the structuring of this book is that you don’t have to read the whole thing. If you have a specific challenge or area of development, you can target your reading to the relevant sections. There are also activities and coach yourself questions that prompt you to think and take an active role in personal development. It’s 100% going to be a re-read in future.


Obsidio

Obsidio was the book I had read the least of as of my last monthly wrap-up whilst still counting as a carryover. From just shy of 100 pages in as of that post, I flew through Obsidio.

I decided to prioritise this over Master of Sorrows in early July as it was much easier to pick up and put down. I was away for a shopping trip in Liverpool at the beginning of the month and I knew I wasn’t going to have much time to read. However, for entertainment on the boat or odd moments at the hotel room, I could pick up a chapter. They were nice and short, but also informal and easy to read. The mixed media definitely helped keep me engaged.


The Power of Habit

The physical read I will be carrying over into August is The Power of Habit by Charles Duhigg. I started this book just a couple of days ago and already I’m enjoying the subject matter. As somebody who takes an interest in psychology and similar subjects, I love delving into how the brain works.

Let’s face it, there are always useful ways the information in this book can be applied. I have good and bad habits aplenty. Understanding how they form and how they can be broken can’t be a bad thing!

As if this post I’m 90 pages, or 30% into the book. I’m enjoying the topic so far and hoping to learn how I can be mindful of my own habits in future.


The Other People

My audiobook carryover into August is The Other People by C.J. Tudor. I have read this author before; I’ve picked up The Taking of Annie Thorne and The Chalk Man historically. I really enjoyed both of these books, and the other people came highly recommended to me by my mum.

Although I have not yet finished this audio, it became clear very early on why this is my mum‘s favourite. I am loving the storyline so far and can’t wait to get to the conclusion to find out exactly what is going on.

In these books, there is always more than meets the eye. I love digging into that detail, but also seeing if I can work it out ahead of time. If a book can live in my head even when I’m not reading it, that to me is the sign of a great book.

As of this post I’m 70% into the audio and keen to see how the storyline resolves!

 

Summary

It’s been a pretty good month of reading and catching up with outstanding reads from June. I have the usual carryovers into August in each format, but that’s nothing new. At least it’s only two books this month and not three!

I’m hoping to wrap-up each of those reads quite quickly and kick off my August TBR very soon. If you want to see what that looks like, stay tuned as I’ll be sharing that later this week.

Until then, happy reading!

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Sunday Summary – 28th July 2024

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In today’s Sunday Summary post I have a few reading updates to share with you, as well as what’s coming up on the blog. So, I hope you’re comfortable with a cuppa. Now, let’s get into it!

The first post I shared this week was a Top Ten Tuesday. In that post, I shared my recommendations on debut books I really enjoyed – so I hope you do too!

Next, I completed my challenge in my First Lines Friday post and featured a non-fiction I’m excited to pick up soon! It’s about one of my favourite topics, and the book is in my Summer TBR too. Win-win!


Books Read


Master of Sorrows

In last week’s Sunday Summary I shared that I was progressing well with Master of Sorrows and that I only had 200 odd pages left. This week I can report full completion and I’m already looking forward to the sequel.

I had no idea where the ending of the book was going to take us. As it stands, I think there is plenty of scope for the story and I still don’t know what will happen next!

Master of Sorrows is the first book I’ve read by this author. I’m hoping he brings out more in future – I’m a big fan of his writing style.


The Other People

In last week’s Sunday Summary I was 25% into The Other People. At that point I already understood why this was a favourite of my mum’s.

As of this week’s post I am now just shy of 50% into the audiobook and it keeps getting better. Now the story is starting to flesh out some detail (albeit leaving plenty as a mystery) and I desperately want to know what’s going on!

I’m listening to this audio at every chance I get, so I’ll be keeping up with this over the next week or so! Stay tuned for further thoughts next week.


The Power of Habit

The final book I started this week is The Power of Habit by Charles Duhigg. I’ve only just started this today so I can’t say a whole lot about it right now, other than I’m looking forward to getting into it. 


Books Discovered

I have another good week of no news on the acquisition and TBR front. I have plenty enough to get on with…


Coming Up…

We’re rapidly coming up to the end of July and the beginning of August. Firstly, where the heck has that gone?!

With this in mind, my content next week is going to include my monthly wrap-up for July and my August monthly TBR. I was late posting the last one due to holiday so I’ll be prioritising getting this one out to you and giving myself the best chance of getting through my reading list as I can!

Last, but by no means least, I’ll round off the week with another Sunday Summary weekly update. Find out what I’ve been reading, and what else is coming up on the blog in that next post.

Until then, happy reading! Have a great week and I’ll see you in the next one!

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Sunday Summary – 21st July 2024

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Good evening reading friends and welcome back to another weekly Sunday Summary update post from yours truly! It’s been a productive week and I’m really happy with what I’ve read and shared in the last week.

My first blog post of the week was a discussion post asking how many books is too many? After a recent, sizeable book haul in Liverpool it’s a question I’d been asking myself.

Friday’s feature was a Shelf Control post in which I shared a book I would cast aside all my TBR for, if only it was out yet. It’s also from one of my favourite series of all time; can you guess what it is?


Books Read


Obsidio

In last week’s Sunday Summary I shared that I had around 200 pages left of Obsidio to read. I polished those off pretty handily!

Obsidio has been a very easy read and I’ve enjoyed the conclusion of the series. The mixed media format has been fun to read at a time when I’ve been busy and it’s kept it light and interesting. I’ve enjoyed this collaboration between Jay Kristoff and Amie Kaufman a lot!


Master of Sorrows

After a couple of weeks of shelving this read, I picked it up again after finishing Obsidio. I only had to skip back a couple of pages to the beginning of my chapter to pick this back up, so that was nice and easy.

Over the last few days of this week, I’ve read another 150 pages of the book already. It’s the most I’ve read for a few days and the story is getting really interesting. The combination of current events and the stories about the Gods and their history are a fun combination and appeal to me a lot. I love delving into the history of the fantasy worlds I’m reading about!

I’m hopeful that I’ll be progressing with and wrapping up this book very soon! If the last few days are anything to go by, I expect nothing less!


The Other People

Having finished You Coach You last week, I’ve started a new audiobook this week. For a change, I’ve picked up a fiction read in this format – The Other People.

Already I can see why this is my mum’s favourite C.J. Tudor novel. I’ve listened to 25% of the audio this week alone and I’m hooked to find out what on earth is going on!

Given I’m quite early in the story there are a lot of threads and no indication as to what it what yet. I’m not convinced it’s going to be as simple as you can be drawn in to believe – having read C.J. Tudor before, I highly doubt that’s the case anyway!


Books Discovered

I’m sticking to my ban this week and I haven’t purchased a single book. I’ve also kept my head down and not added anything new to my reading list either 😁


Coming Up…

I’m looking forward to the content I have prepared for next week. For once I’ve decided this ahead of time rather than putting it together as I’m typing this post.

My first post of the week will be a Top Ten Tuesday post and feature debut novels I’ve read and enjoyed! Having read extensively and taken part in blog tours before, I have a great opportunity to share my list with you!

Friday’s post is a First Lines Friday. I’m setting myself a challenge to feature a non-fiction book in that post. It’s been a while since I’ve set criteria for the post; it makes it more fun and challenging to find the right book! I have an ulterior motive doing this – I need to step up my non-fiction reading little to meet my goal before the end of the year. I’m hoping this will inspire me to pick one up very soon!

As always, I’ll be wrapping up the week with another Sunday Summary post to share what I’ve been reading and all my updates with you!

If you’re still here, thanks for reading my Sunday Summary! Until next time, have a great week, and happy reading!

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Monthly TBR – July 2024

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Given we’re about a third of the way into July, I’m overdue sharing my monthly TBR, no?

In today’s post I have a great range of books to share that I plan for read in the next few weeks. You’ll have seen a good few of them before as they are carryovers. At the same time, I have a few new faces too, so let’s get stuck in!

 

Fixed Reads


You Coach You

My last current read and carryover is You Coach You by Helen Tupper and Sarah Ellis.

As of this monthly TBR I have actually just finished this audiobook this morning. However, I spent at least a couple of hours this month getting to that point so it’s going on this TBR to mark that progress effort.

I’ve enjoyed this audio so much and see the value in its content that I’ve just ordered a paperback copy to refer back to and re-read in future!


Master of Sorrows


Master of Sorrows is on yet another monthly TBR… but not as a non-starter this time!

I’ve been trying to read the book since February and I finally started it last month. It is, however, a current read so it makes it onto July’s monthly TBR as a carryover. Can I say, may it please be the last?!

I’m about halfway through the book, so there’s no reason I won’t be completing this soon!


Obsidio

Another carryover from my June TBR is Obsidio by Jay Kristoff and Amie Kaufman.

I started this last book in the Illuminae files trilogy last month after accidentally leaving Master of Sorrows at work. It’s been a refreshing change to read a mixed media book again! It’ll also be even better to be able to mark this series as complete once I’ve finished it. I’ll be sad to see it end, but there is another sci-fi series they’ve co-written I could pick up…

As of this post, I’m around a third of the way into the book. It’s a quick read, so again, I expect to finish it before long.


Mood Reads


The Other People

The only book on my June TBR I didn’t get to is The Other People by C.J. Tudor. It’s mum’s favourite book of hers so far, so I’m really looking forward to reading it this month instead.

I haven’t picked up a mystery novel at all this year, so it will make a refreshing change! I’ve enjoyed two of C.J. Tudor’s books already, so I have high hopes for this one!


Defiant

With my Mid Year Check In and Summer TBR posts still fresh in my mind, I’m adding a book to this monthly TBR that will earn me another series completion.

Defiant is the last book in Brandon Sanderson’s Skyward series. Honestly, I’ll be sad to get to the end of it, but I also want to see how Spensa’s story ends. For a series to which I’m not the target demographic, I’m getting on with it really well. Equally, I haven’t met a Sanderson book I’ve disliked…

Let’s hope I’ve met jinxed it!


The Power of Habit

Another selection with my 2024 reading goals in mind is a recent acquisition. The Power of Habit is both a non-fiction book and will, with any luck, help towards my blogging goal of using social media more!

In theory this is a win-win read, but we’ll see how that works out in practice.


Summary

July’s monthly TBR reflects a reading month in which I plan to catch up with ongoing reads. However, there are also a couple of new books I’m introducing here. I’m not planning a long list that I think is unachievable, so here’s to a productive month! 

 

Have you read any of the books on this monthly TBR? Do you have any tips on how I can get better at making social media a habit?

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Shelf Control #78 – 21/06/2024

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This Shelf Control features an author I have read many times already, and will continue to do so in future. He is very prominent in his genre and is by all accounts a household name.

I added this book to my reading list as I was intrigued by the synopsis. I also know I love his writing style, so I can’t really go wrong here!

Before I get into details of the book, I share a reminder of what the Shelf Control feature is all about!

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.


Bag of Bones – Stephen King

Genre: Horror

Pages: 672

Audience: Adult

Publisher: Hodder and Stoughton

Publication Date: 31 May 2017

 


Goodreads – Bag of Bones

 

A powerful tale of grief, love’s enduring bonds and the secrets of the past.

When Mike Noonan’s wife dies unexpectedly, the bestselling author suffers from writer’s block. Until he is drawn to his summer home, the beautiful lakeside retreat called Sara Laughs.

Here Mike finds the once familiar town in the tyrannical grip of millionaire Max Devore. Devore is hell-bent on getting custody of his deceased son’s daughter and is twisting the fabric of the community to this purpose.

Three-year-old Kyra and her young mother turn to Mike for help. And Mike finds them increasingly irresistible.

But there are other more sinister forces at Sara Laughs – and Kyra can feel them too . . .


My Thoughts

Stephen King is an author I intend to read over time. To date, I have enjoyed many of his books, from crossovers with the fantasy genre (The Dark Tower) to pure horror (The Shining, Pet Sematary, The Green Mile etc). And, I’m not much of a horror reader in general, so there’s a compliment, right?

The synopsis is as gripping as all King novels are. There is always something supernatural going on and we are never quite sure what is behind it all. That’s what I love digging into in his books, and Bag of Bones will be no exception.

It’s also a reasonably chunky book. You know that appeals to Queen of chunky books here!

Have you read Bag of Bones? What did you think of it if you have?

 

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