Tag: reading list

Monthly TBR – August 2022 (Magical Readathon)

Happy Friday everyone! It’s still early in August, and it’s time to share my monthly TBR!

This month I am doing something fun, and belatedly taking part in a readathon. A few years ago, G over at Book Roast set up her Magical Readathon. Inspired by the structure of the exams in the Harry Potter series, she built a readathon in which you could ‘sit exams’ over two ‘sittings’ by reading books that completed certain prompts associated with them. In the first sitting, you have one prompt per exam. In the second, you can specialise in certain exams and read multiple prompts for that subject – the more you read, the better grade you get. 

That was several years ago, and now she has developed the readathon even further. She has built her own fantasy world based around a similar concept. The aim is to obtain qualifications in two semesters (one month-long readathon in April and one in August) towards a certain fantasy career.

I didn’t hear about this readathon until very recently. I missed out in April this year, so whilst everybody else taking part is doing the August prompts right now, I have decided to go back to April’s prompts so I can catch up and maybe take part in real-time next year. It’s been implied that progress made this year will carry over into next year.

I want to take part as it will be fun and push me a little out of my comfort zone. The prompts in some cases are for books I wouldn’t necessarily choose to put on my monthly TBR right now. At the same time, I have been able to incorporate books that I do want to read at the moment, so it’s the best of both worlds. There is a lot more interactivity involved in these readathons that I won’t be able to do right now, but that’s something I can look forward to.

 

Magical Readathon: Character

I have one book on my monthly TBR that I have to read, and that’s because I’m taking part in a blog tour later this month.

Naturally, I had to fit this into the prompts given, and fortunately, I can make it fit one. That, combined with the limitation of the amount I can read in a month, narrowed down my career options. In the end, it was a toss-up between the Craftsmage and Story Weaver profession. Technically, the Craftsmage career is an easier one to obtain as there is less reading required for it. However, I was less keen on the April prompts for this profession. So, I opted for Story Weaver.

For that career, I have to obtain qualifications in Inscription, Art of Illusion, Psionics and Divination, and Lore. I am hoping to read more than four books this month, so I’ve chosen some additional reads for my own reasons. If those additional books fulfill a prompt, I’ve noted it here and will count it. It might not count for anything right now, but as this readathon is ongoing, it may become relevant later.

Let’s jump into the books I’ve chosen for my monthly TBR and which prompts they fulfill for my career choice.

 

Fixed Reads

The First Binding

Inscription: An Intimidating Read

I’m only setting one fixed read this month, and that is because I am taking part in a blog tour later this month. As a result, this is the book I had fit into the list of prompts I had.

The First Binding is an epic fantasy novel over 800 pages long. That may be intimidating enough, but the added kicker is that I have to read and finish this book and share my review on the 15th August. Having done the maths, it means I have to read an absolute minimum of 70 pages a day in order to get there. Naturally, I aim to read it quicker if I can. If that’s not intimidating, I don’t know what is!

 

Mood Reads

The Silence of the Girls

Lore: Mythology Inspired Read

This particular book is about Greek Mythology, in particular, around female characters affected by the Trojan War. I recently read and enjoyed Pandora’s Jar by Natalie Haynes. I’ve wanted to pick up more books about the subject (I’ve even added one about the Trojan War, written by Natalie Haynes, to my TBR recently).

However, I already own a copy of The Silence of the Girls. As it’s a subject I’m interested in, and a topic I need for the readathon, this should be perfect. The icing on the cake is that it’s a nice short read. After reading The First Binding, I think I will relish it.

 

Assassin’s Quest

Art of Illusion: Book with a trope I Like

I am a big reader of fantasy. As such, there are a lot of tropes to choose from. Some are more used than most, and some of them I like better than others. One of the tropes I enjoy, even if it is a bit overused, is characters going off on a quest and developing personally as a result. Fitting in with that trope nicely, I’ve chosen Assassin’s Quest by Robin Hobb.

I have just finished reading Royal Assassin and I’m itching to pick up this third book of the first trilogy. It fit perfectly into the required prompt… so it would have been rude not to! 

 

Golden Son

Psionics & Divination: Book Set in the Future

For the psionics and divination prompt, I need to read a book set in the future. This is the prompt I’ve had the most debate over, and changed my book selection a number of times already.

Naturally, I have the flexibility to change my mind again if I feel the need. However, I have provisionally chosen to read Golden Son by Pierce Brown. I read Red Rising last year and I really loved this first book. Set in the near (but undefined) future, the series is about the colonisation of all the planets in space – in particular, Mars. This is a science fiction novel with a dystopian theme. I really enjoyed this first book and I’ve heard good things about the second in the series. So, I’m taking the opportunity to tick off this prompt and further read towards completing a series. God knows I have plenty ongoing already without starting anymore. 

 

Invisible Women

No prompt

The last physical book I am provisionally setting on my monthly TBR is Invisible Women. I had intended to read this book last month, but I ended up swapping it out for Pandora’s Jar on a whim.

Reading this particular book doesn’t satisfy any of the prompts for the readathon, however, I have set myself a personal goal of reading at least one non-fiction book a month. It’s for this reason that I am still adding Invisible Women to this TBR.

 

Audiobooks

The Viscount Who Loved Me

Alchemy: Book featuring Romance

There are some chunky books on my TBR, so I’m only ‘setting’ five physical reads this month.

I would like to try and squeeze in one more book, and I would like to do so in audiobook format. I think this is the first time I’ve ever put an audiobook on a TBR deliberately. Audiobooks make up the smallest proportion of my reading. However, I have definitely been in the mood to listen to more audiobooks of late. Whilst I am in the mood, I’d like to try and make this more of a regular habit, rather than the stop-start relationship I typically have.

The reason for adding the audiobook, and this genre audiobook, is because I think I want something lighter to listen to. I should be able to listen to this on my commute, or whilst I am doing jobs around the house and so it should be easy to squeeze in.

There is another reason why I have chosen this format for this book. I read the Duke and I back in May, and whilst I had mixed feelings about the book, I said I wasn’t going to continue with the series. However, I’m going to give it a second chance in audiobook format.

I have enjoyed the Bridgerton Netflix series to date, but most importantly, I want to see if I can persevere long enough to follow Penelope‘s and Eloise‘s story arcs. They are honestly the only two characters I really care about. However, it’s going to be a while before we get there in the Netflix series, so if I can at least get so far as their books and I’ll be happy.

Don’t get me wrong, if I don’t enjoy this overly either then I’ll abandon the attempt and I’ll just have to wait for the Netflix series to get to their parts.

Having checked the prompt sheet, I can pass the alchemy exam by reading a book featuring a romance. So, if I read this book then that’s an bonus qualification I can earn.

 

So, that’s my monthly TBR for August! This is my first time ever taking part in a readathon, and I am really excited! Have you ever taken part in one? Alternatively, what are you reading this month? Let me know in the comments or on social media.

Wish me luck!

 

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Monthly Wrap-Up – July 2022

If you want to find out which amazing books I’ve been reading this month, and those I would like to recommend to you my fellow readers, then my monthly wrap-up post is the one for you!

In my monthly wrap-up posts, I share the details of all the books I read in the month just gone. For July, I decided to keep with a similar concept with my TBR and only set a couple of ‘fixed reads’, whereas the rest could be changed with my mood. I’ll clearly mark out which books fell into which bracket.

Overall, I found this approach really worked for me once again.

Whereas last month I ended up sticking to my provisional mood reads, I did actually swap one book out for another this month. It was entirely on a whim, but that’s the point. I want to give myself the flexibility if I really want to read something, to just pick it up.

 

Books Read

Fixed Reads

Twelve Nights

Genre: historical-fiction

Pages: 380

Audience: Adult

Publisher: Nerthus

Publication Date: 1 Jun 2022

Rating: 🌟🌟🌟

 

Goodreads – Twelve Nights

My first read of the month was Twelve Nights by Penny Ingham. I committed to taking part in a blog tour for this particular book and shared my review as a part of it. That post was due on the 11th of July, so reading this particular book was my first port of call.

If you want to check out my full thoughts on the book, you can find a link to my blog tour post here. In summary, Twelve Nights was a fun historical-fiction/mystery novel in which a number of themes are brought together – the treatment of women in the 16th century, the impact of religion on daily life, William Shakespeare, the theatre and surprisingly, suffering from Alzheimer’s/dementia.

We are taken through a variety of twists and turns as Magdalen tries to get to the bottom of a murder she did not commit, all before her ‘inquest’ and inevitable conviction for the crimes. The mystery took a turn I was not expecting, and I really enjoyed the element of surprise at the 11th hour!

If any of these things sound like something you’d enjoy, then I recommend picking this book up.

 

The Man Who Died Twice

Genre: Mystery

Pages: 422

Audience: Adult

Publisher: Penguin

Publication Date: 16 Sept 2021

Rating: 🌟🌟🌟🌟🌟

 

Goodreads – The Man Who Died Twice

My second and last ‘fixed read’ of the month was The Man Who Died Twice by Richard Osman. I set this as a fixed read as I wanted to return the book to Chris whilst he was on island visiting with my sister. I had every intention to pick this up straight after Twelve Nights, however, that didn’t come to pass.

Instead, I had a real hankering to pick up another book (and not one on my July TBR). I indulged myself by picking this other book up, before returning to The Man Who Died Twice.

The story was engaging, high-stakes, and enabled us to see a little into Elizabeth’s past, which I really enjoyed. I think she’s one of the more interesting characters of the book/series so far, even if she is quite unrealistic in real life. But, that’s not the point. It’s a bit of fun and I enjoy how Richard Osman manages to write an intriguing mystery, with a lot of humour along the way.

At the same time though, he doesn’t neglect difficult subjects. In his first book, the narrative includes a character suicide. In the second book, one of the characters experiences violence and a consequent knock of confidence as a result of the attack.

The copy I read was a chunky hardback edition, but this turned out to be a quick read regardless. I really enjoyed being back in the company of Elizabeth, Joyce, Ron and Ibrahim (a.k.a. the Thursday Murder Club). The narrative of this second book in the series was honestly slightly better than the first. I managed to read this in just a handful of days and return the book to its rightful owner with plenty of time to spare.

This was one of my top reads of the month. If you enjoy mystery books on the lighthearted, contemporary side, this is one for you!

 

Mood Reads

Pandora’s Jar

Genre: Mythology

Pages: 320

Audience: Adult

Publisher: Picador

Publication Date: 1 Oct 2020

Rating: 🌟🌟🌟🌟

 

Goodreads – Pandora’s Jar

I picked up and read Pandora’s Jar completely on a whim.

After reading Twelve Nights and suffering the injustices of women through the perspective of Magdalen, I wanted a book that almost served a bit of social justice. What drew me to Pandora’s Jar, in particular, is that the author features 10 female characters in Greek myths and explores how they are done injustice in their own stories.

One of the more interesting things I found, is that these stories weren’t written that way originally; the stories have changed over time and the roles these women play in the stories (whether made inconsequential, turned into monsters or painted to be downright evil). In Pandora’s Jar, Natalie Haynes challenges these changes and puts to right how these characters were portrayed in earlier/alternate versions of the stories.

 

Royal Assassin

Genre: Fantasy

Pages: 648

Audience: Adult

Publisher: Harper Voyager

Publication Date: 27 Mar 2014

Rating: 🌟🌟🌟🌟🌟

 

Goodreads – Royal Assassin

Next, I wanted to continue my foray into the Realm of the Elderlings, so picked up Royal Assassin by Robin Hobb.

Royal Assassin is the second book of the Farseer trilogy and I am loving these books so far! I am a big fantasy reader, with greater emphasis on those that are in series as opposed to standalone.

Needless to say, these books are right up my street. They aren’t quick reads, but I really love these books. I just managed to finish Royal Assassin on the last day of the month. Given the way the book ended, I can’t see myself reading the third book of this first trilogy very, very soon!

This was my top read of the month, although The Man Who Died Twice came a close second. This is a book for epic fantasy lovers – especially if you like to invest in a detailed world spanning multiple books.

 

A Feast of Phantoms

Book cover of A Feast of PhantomsGenre: Fantasy

Pages: 270

Audience: New Adult

Publisher: Acorn

Publication Date: 17 Mar 2020

Rating: 🌟🌟🌟

 

Goodreads – A Feast of Phantoms

I signed up to review A Feast of Phantoms via BookSirens a few months ago, and as the review deadline is coming up imminently, I decided to pick this up in July.

Also as I didn’t have my copy of The First Binding yet, it felt like a perfect opportunity to squeeze this in. I did also end up taking a brief break from reading Royal Assassin to make sure I had time to hit the review deadline.

A Feast of Phantoms is a nice short read and is an eclectic mix of genres. The book has a western/steampunk theme, with a predominant fantasy baseline with elements of supernatural. Are you still with me? It is quite a wild combination, and whilst I wasn’t sure about it at first, it won me over. When it became clear in the narrative that all is not as it seems, that was the hook.

This is a solid fantasy read if you’re looking for something on the shorter side. At 270 pages, I flew through A Feast of Phantoms. If you want to find out more, I am publishing my review on Thursday.

 

A Note on The First Binding…

I had put The First Binding on my TBR for July, as I was expecting a review copy ahead of a blog tour post on the 15th of August.

However, I only just received my copy on Friday. This is a reading priority now (for obvious reasons), but I just wanted to include this explanation in my monthly wrap-up to let you know why I haven’t picked it up this month. It’s because I couldn’t.

 

Audiobooks

I have decided to add a section to these monthly wrap-up posts for audiobooks, as it is abundantly clear that I am back into a phase of listening to these. I have been doing a lot of crafty projects lately, and whilst I don’t have a deadline for a gift anymore, I’m working on something for myself.

It’s quite a large cross-stitch project, so it’s going to take me a while. However, that means I’m going to have plenty of time to listen to more audiobooks. I set the precedence when making my friend Rachael‘s gift, so I am really into it.

Still, I’m not a quick audiobook listener. It’s The method I consume books in the least, so I’m not going to have loads of books here in any one month.

 

Northern Lights

Genre: Fantasy

Pages: 399

Audience: Children/Middle Grade

Publisher: Scholastic Point

Publication Date: 23 Oct 1998

Rating: 🌟🌟🌟

 

Goodreads – Northern Lights

This month I have completed listening to Northern Lights by Philip Pullman. I’ve enjoyed the story element of it even though I’m not necessarily the target audience. I do have some gripes about the audiobook itself.

I am not a fan of the casting of this audiobook in particular. A lot of it is narrated by the author Philip Pullman himself, however, character speech is cast out to other people. Personally, I would have preferred consistency and if the author had narrated everything himself, I think it would be smoother.

I also don’t like some of the voices, especially the main character Lyra. I understand the casting in a way, but her voice is just irritating. Overall, it’s quite jarring and not as pleasant an experience as it could have been. I’m going to try and not let it deter me from listening to the rest of the series, but there is just my two pence worth.

 

That’s a wrap for my monthly wrap-up post! Did you read any great books in July? Do you have any book recommendations to share? As always, I’d love to hear from you!

 

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Monthly TBR – July 2022

Hello and welcome to my July Monthly TBR! Apologies that we have gotten to the 9th of the month and I’m only just posting my list now. I’ve been a bit delayed with getting posts out there, but this is something I’m looking to rectify very soon! My schedule has been hectic and just hasn’t quite gone to plan, as there have been a few bits on in my personal life lately. I’ve had my exam, and more recently I’ve been getting ready for a very special event; one of my best friends gets married today!

One of the reasons I have been listening to a lot of audiobooks lately, and the reason why a lot of my time has been taken up aside from exams, is because I have made my friend a present for her wedding. I’m not going to share a picture just yet; and I’m only willing to say this in today’s post because I think she’ll be too busy to read it (she does follow my blog, I think). It’s something that has taken up a good deal of my time, and I only finished it at about 10pm last night. I can only hope it’s been worth every moment!

So, apologies for the delay and excuses – now, let’s jump into what you’re really here for… my monthly TBR!

In line with last month, I am deliberately setting myself a shorter fixed reading list. I really benefited from the flexibility last month and my reading motivation was through the roof! I’m optimistic that I will be able to carry this forward into July!

 

Fixed Reads

Twelve Nights

Genre: Historical fiction, mystery

Pages: 380

Audience: Adult

Publisher: Nerthus

Publication Date: 1 Jun 2022

 

 

This month I have one blog tour that I am sharing a review for, and so naturally, this is the first book on my list! Twelve Nights is a historical mystery focused on a theatre group. When one of the players died as a result of poisoning, Magdalen, the wardrobe mistress, is automatically accused. Poison is a woman’s weapon, after all.

As I’m writing this post, I am over halfway through the book and on track to provide my review next week. I could tell from the synopsis that this book was going to trigger the feelings that I have. There is a lot of feminist rage going on over here right now because this poor woman is victimised purely for being a woman, by men who behave far worse. I’m looking forward to finishing the book to see how everything resolves itself.

 

The Man Who Died Twice

Genre: Mystery

Pages: 422

Audience: Adult

Publisher: Penguin

Publication Date: 16 Sep 2021

 

 

I’m adding this book to my fixed list as well, as I have been loaned a copy by my sister’s boyfriend Chris. They are coming to the island for a visit later this month, so for practical reasons, it’ll be great to get this one read and I can return the book to Chris whilst he is here.

I recently read and enjoyed The Thursday Murder Club. I’m looking forward to rejoining these characters and seeing them get involved in yet more shenanigans, despite their age and better judgment. I don’t know much about the synopsis of this book. I added it to my list purely because I enjoyed the first book so much!

 

Mood Reads

Invisible Women

Genre: Non-fiction, feminism

Pages: 411

Audience: Adult

Publisher: Abrams Press

Publication Date: 12 Mar 2019

 

 

In line with my new goal of picking up at least one non-fiction book a month, I have added Invisible Women to my mood-read list. I’ve been looking at this one on my bookshelf for the last couple of weeks, and I’ve been really tempted to pick it up.

I think this will sit well with my current read, Twelve Nights. Whilst the world has moved on significantly since 1592, there are a lot of things to be desired about the way women are treated, and the ways (subtle or otherwise) in which women are living in a world ruled by men.

 

Royal Assassin

Genre: Epic fantasy

Pages: 648

Audience: Adult

Publisher: Harper Voyager

Publication Date: 1 Mar 1996

 

 

I really enjoyed reading Assassin’s Apprentice in June. I have been re-reading a lot of much-loved books and series this year that I initially read a long time ago. It is refreshing to pick up something completely new, and I can honestly say that I believe that this author and series will become one that I come back to in future.

Having finally taken the plunge to read the first book, I can see why it came highly recommended by friends and the bookish community in general! I loved the events of the first book and I can’t wait to see how it continues to develop.

 

The First Binding

Genre: Epic Fantasy

Pages: 832

Audience: Adult

Publisher: Gollancz 

Publication Date: 18 Aug 2022

 

 

This last book is an absolute chunk, and I am taking part in a blog tour for this book next month! I cannot tell you how excited I am to have been selected for the tour being organised by the publisher, because I have had my eye on this book since January.

I’m still awaiting my review copy, but I can’t wait to pick up this huge epic fantasy. As you can tell by my enjoyment and continuation of Robin Hobb, epic fantasy is a genre that really works for me and I’m always really interested in picking up. I always enjoy picking up books by new authors too, so this ticks a lot of boxes for me. Hopefully, I’m not waiting too much longer on my copy, because I would like to make a good start on this as soon as I possibly can.

 

With the way things have been at the moment, I am only on the first book of my monthly TBR still. However, most of my commitments are now dealt with and so I will have a lot more free time to get into books from next week.

I am optimistic for another brilliant reading month. I’m really happy with the progress I made in June, and I hope to replicate it now that my time has freed up and I’m excited to pick up all the books!

Do you have any reading plans this month? What are you reading at the moment?

 

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Mid-Year Review of 2022 Goals/Resolutions

Hello everyone and welcome to my mid-year review post for 2022. In this post I’m going to take a look at the goals I set myself at the start of this year in my 2022 New Year Goals/Resolutions post. I’m going to evaluate where I’m up to so far, amend if necessary, and maybe even add another…

At the beginning of the year, I set myself three primary goals. After a year off, I wanted to take part in the Goodreads Reading Challenge once again. I enjoyed my break, however, I felt that taking part in the challenge provides me with some much-needed motivation. I also set myself a challenge regarding how I structure my reading. In previous years I have gone from one extreme of setting a static list for the month, to setting no list at all. I found that neither approach works perfectly for me, and so I challenged myself to take a more hybrid approach. Lastly, I set myself a challenge to get more organised with my blog post writing.

Of all the challenges set so far, I feel like the last of those is the only one where there is a lot to be desired. But, more on that below!

 

Existing Challenges

Goodreads Challenge – 40 books

40 books isn’t an overly ambitious target (for me), but it’s one that I felt I could reasonably achieve. When you consider that last year I only read about 25 books, it’s a step up. Equally, my record has been reading 72 books in one year.

That is a lot, and I don’t think it’s an amount I will ever achieve again. It’s partly because I went so hard at this that I ended up slumping last year. I’d rather take a slower and steady approach, and this is how I got to my target of 40.

At the end of June, I had completed 23 books and only DNF’d one! I’m pleased with this progress, as not only am I on track, but I’m also not so far ahead that I’ve made the challenge too easy. In previous years I have upped my goal because I had underestimated myself.

Here are the details of the books I’ve read in the last six months: 

Obviously, things can change in the next six months. I will be doing another review at the end of August with regards to my Goodreads challenge, but for now, it’s staying where it is!

 

Reading Lists

I have definitely been taking a more flexible approach to my reading list, although I don’t think I found the balance just yet. It may be that this is a constantly moving target and I just need to be a little bit adaptable with myself.

At the beginning of the year, I was setting myself a monthly TBR that was approximately 2/3 fixed and 1/3 flexible. I thought I would benefit from having more in the way of structure, with the opportunity to pick up anything I like at the end of the month if I get through those books. There are months where this worked, and there are months where this didn’t work quite so much.

It is only more recently that I have allowed myself a little more freedom. I was finding that a lot of the time, I wasn’t really getting to my mood reads, or I was only just getting to them towards the end of the month. That doesn’t really give me what I was setting out to achieve.

Quite by chance, I tried a different approach in June. When trying to set myself a TBR, I kept changing my mind as to what I wanted to read. I only had one real reading commitment, and so in the end I decided to set this as my only fixed read and to allow myself the flexibility with everything else during the month. As it happens, I did end up sticking with the books I’d penciled in, but I think the mentality that allowing myself the flexibility gave me motivation. This was also during a time when I had an exam to prepare for, and in theory, it should have been one of my worst months. But in reality, I think it was my best!

I want to continue with this more flexible approach in future.

So, in the meantime, I’m going to set myself a limit of only setting half of a monthly TBR as ‘fixed books’, although if I can be more flexible with myself then that is what I will try to do. This is dependent on reading commitments, so I’m not going to sign myself up for too much so that I can’t fulfill this goal.

 

Blog Post Writing

At the beginning of this year, I set myself the challenge to be more organised with writing my blog posts. Primarily, I wanted to pull my finger out and get my posts scheduled at least a week in advance. That way, if there are any unpleasant surprises, or I’m not in the mood, I had some leeway to get post out to you on time.

This is the only goal that I haven’t done so well with. I am still writing posts pretty much as and when they are scheduled to go up. This very post itself is already delayed from my original intended posting date, so that illustrates how I’m still struggling with this!

I’m going to make a concerted effort to start preparing my posts in a more timely fashion. It won’t take that much effort, but I just need to be a little bit more disciplined with myself in order to make this change a habit. Once it’s a habit, it’ll be golden.

 

New Challenge

Read more Non-fiction

I am well on the way with two out of three of my existing challenges. I have been considering adding an additional challenge for myself this year, and I have plenty of books that will allow me to do this.

As an avid learner, I would like to pick up more non-fiction books. Be it memoirs/biographies, histories or books aimed at personal development, I would like to explore the genre in more detail. It is one of the least read on my blog overall, and I would like to change that.

With this in mind, I am setting myself the challenge of reading/listening to at least one non-fiction book a month. I can either include this as part of my fixed TBR, or I can pick it up on a whim. Tying in with my existing challenge regarding reading lists, I’m going to make this fit within that. In June I listened to Hell by Jeffrey Archer, one of his prison diaries published in 2003. I have another non-fiction book ready for my July TBR, so this is a good start to this brand-new challenge!

So, that is where I am up to with my 2022 goals, and what I would like to make progress with in the next six months.

Have you set yourself any goals for 2022, and are you on track?

 

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Monthly Wrap-Up – June 2022

Welcome to my monthly wrap-up post covering all the books I read in June. I came so, so close to finishing this month’s TBR on time; in the end, I finished my last book on the 1st of July. I’m really happy despite that though!

I knew at the beginning of this month that I wasn’t going to be reading quite so much towards the end, as I had an exam on the 29th of June to prepare for. Perhaps that is why I ended up reading so much at the beginning of the month. I also managed to squeeze in a couple of audiobooks too!

My TBR for June was a little bit different, as I couldn’t decide what to pick up and read. I had one commitment, which I ended up setting as my only ‘fixed’ book on my TBR. The rest, I pencilled in provisionally but allowed myself the option to change. Incidentally, I didn’t change any of the books, but it was nice that I have the flexibility if I wanted to. And I think I needed that. Clearly it has worked out very well for me as I’ve made very good progress this month. I’m very happy with where I’m at with my reading.

I’m considering taking this approach a bit more in future; but I’m certainly going to try it out again to see if it continues to work for me.

 

Books Read

Wolf of Mercia

Genre: Historical fiction

Pages: 346

Audience: Adult

Publisher: Boldwood Books

Publication Date: 7 Jun 2022

Stars: 🌟🌟🌟🌟🌟

 

My first priority of this month was to read my only ‘fixed’ book of the month, Wolf of Mercia by MJ Porter. I had agreed to take part in a blog tour for this sequel; the first book I read earlier this year. The thing I love the most about this series is that it offers a unique perspective in a period of history where violence is almost expected. Our protagonist Icel does not relish battle or even killing in his own defence, but in this sequel we got to see a new side of him – one that acknowledges his duty, but also sticks to his roots of healing people wherever he can.

If you enjoy books like Bernard Cornwell’s The Last Kingdom, then this is something I would recommend to you. I picked up this series initially because of my love of that, and it really works for me!

 

Norse Mythology

Genre: Mythology; short stories

Pages: 283

Audience: Adult

Publisher: Bloomsbury

Publication Date: 6 Mar 2018

Stars:🌟🌟🌟🌟

 

After Wolf of Mercia, I swiftly moved on to Norse Mythology by Neil Gaiman. I wanted to pick up this book, however, I will admit I was sceptical as to whether I would like it or not. I haven’t had the best experience with books written by Neil Gaiman overall. However, Norse Mythology really worked for me.

Perhaps it is because this book is his own retelling of classic norse stories that this ended up being really safe ground. I enjoyed how these were written. Given that the book is just a collection of short stories, it was a very quick read for me; I managed to read it in just a couple of days. I was pleasantly surprised!

 

Assassin’s Apprentice

Genre: Fantasy

Pages: 392

Audience: Adult

Publisher: Harper Voyager UK

Publication Date: 27 Mar 2014

Stars:🌟🌟🌟🌟🌟

 

I have been meaning to try Robin Hobb’s books for such a long time, but never quite gotten around to them. However, I finally did it and I am so glad I’ve taken the plunge! These books have come highly recommended in general, but also more specifically from friends of mine.

One of the main elements I look at with fantasy books is character and world-building. These boxes were well and truly ticked in Assassin’s Apprentice, and I really enjoyed the storyline that unfolded in this book. It had elements of magic that I really liked, but also hints at the wider storyline that I trust will unfold throughout Hobb’s ‘The Realm of the Elderlings’ books.

From very early on in the narrative, we as the reader are sympathetic towards Fitz. He is a royal bastard who is left with his father‘s man Burrich as a child. He does not fit in to life at court and so he remains largely unacknowledged… but when he is, it’s not really for the better either.

I really enjoyed this book and I’m going to be continuing with this series very, very soon!

 

The Appeal

Genre: Mystery, Thriller

Pages: 428

Audience: Adult

Publisher: Viper

Publication Date: 14 Jan 2021

Stars: 🌟🌟🌟🌟🌟

 

The biggest selling point for me about The Appeal is that the story is told through written communications between characters. If you are looking for something that is not traditional prose, then this format is one I’d recommend you try. I really liked this change of pace, and the storyline behind the emails/messages etc between the characters is engaging in and of its own right!

The beginning of the story is a bit of a slow burn. You go into it knowing that a murder has taken place, however it does not take place until a significant way through a narrative. I expected it to happen a little bit sooner, however it comes about that the context and events we see occur in the beginning are very much relevant to what happens in the end.

What is also clever about the way this is written is that you have to read into the subtext. These people meet in person and there are interactions that we don’t see in between, but can only speculate as to what occurs. As it turns out, there is a lot more going on under the surface and whilst there were some twists I did anticipate, there were others I did not at all! This was another fantastic read, and I cannot believe that this is a debut.

I will definitely be continuing with this author’s work!

 

Skyward

Genre: Science-fiction

Pages: 513

Audience: Adult

Publisher: Gollancz

Publication Date: 6 Nov 2018

Stars: 🌟🌟🌟🌟🌟

 

I started reading Skyward on or around the 20th June, so this is the book I read the slowest over the course of the month. However, as I mentioned above, this was expected with my exam. Just because it was read the slowest, it does not mean I did not enjoy it!

Skyward is quite different to all the other Brandon Sanderson books I have read to date. Where they have sat firmly in the fantasy genre, Skyward is (expectedly) very hard leaning into the science-fiction genre. It is also written for a young adult audience. Some people have said they felt the writing was dumbed down a little, but I didn’t pick up on this too much. The nature of our protagonist definitely appeals to a younger audience, and perhaps the plot line is a little bit less sophisticated than some of his other fantasy books. But, other than that, I felt this read just as well.

I already have a copy of the sequel, Starsight, on my bookshelves just begging to be read.

 

Knight’s Shadow

Genre: Fantasy

Pages: 606 (20hrs 6mins audio)

Audience: Adult

Publisher: Jo Fletcher Books

Publication Date: 5 Mar 2015

Stars: 🌟🌟🌟🌟🌟

 

During the month of June I started listening to Knight’s Shadow by Sebastien de Castell again. I had started this audiobook previously, but I go through phases with audiobooks and I will binge-listen for a while, then practically stop completely. It’s a cycle that comes and goes, and I’m finally back in the ‘listening’ phase.

Even though it had been a little minute since I first started this audiobook, I was able to pick it up again really easily. The storyline and what has happened previously is unique and so it was very easy to return to the world and remember what has gone before.

I really enjoy the storyline and the witty perspective of our protagonist. I had no idea how this particular book was going to play out, after the events of the first book in series. However, it was written very well and it was a pleasure to listen to. I feel a grander storyline coming into play in comparison to the first book. As a fan of epic fantasy, this obviously appeals to me!

 

Hell

Genre: Non-fiction; memoir 

Pages: 272 (7hrs 6mins audio)

Audience: Adult

Publisher: Pan Books

Publication Date: 24 Jul 2003

Stars: 🌟🌟🌟🌟

 

The second audiobook listened to this month was completed in full, although admittedly, it only weighs in at about seven hours of listening time. Honestly, if it hadn’t been recommended to me I probably wouldn’t have picked it up. However, I’m glad I did!

This is the first prison diary written by Jeffrey Archer, and it recounts his experience of being imprisoned in HMP Belmarsh. This was a bit of an eye-opener for me. It’s not the kind of non-fiction book you would expect to pick up. However, the author’s experience of being imprisoned here, for a charge far less severe than that of his inmates, goes to show the unfairness and inefficiencies of the British legal system.

There are further prison diaries that the author wrote during his time, and I will also be listening to these in the future.

 

That is a lot of books to feature in one monthly wrap-up post! I had originally planned to share my mid-year review at the same time as this post. However, it’s already long enough, so I’m going to split that back out again and share that in the next day or two.

What have you been reading this month? Have you got any good book recommendations? Have you read any of the books I’ve featured today? As always, I’d love to hear from you!

 

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Top Ten Tuesday – Bookish Wishes!

Top Ten Tuesday posts were created by The Broke and the Bookish and then hosting moved to That Artsy Reader Girl. It was born of a love of lists, a love of books, and a desire to bring bookish friends together.

When I saw this week’s Top Ten Tuesday theme, I knew I wanted to share my version of this post. It’s a fun way to tell you what I’m really excited to read next, and also to consolidate my thoughts on the books I actually want to spend money on and rather than those purchased in the spur of the moment. I’m also going to include the format in which I want to obtain a copy of the book.

That’s important to me. I don’t have the most space in the world (although I am endeavouring to fill as much of it with books as possible!) and so I try to purchase e-books or audiobooks where possible. I will only buy physical copies of books by authors I really, really love. For the most part. There are some whimsical purchases now and then. As and when I have a clear out, these would be removed if necessary.

As most of these books are very high on my reading list, most of them I will be looking to purchase in print. There may however be a few exceptions.

The original aim of this post is for the blogger like me to include a link to a Wish List so anybody can purchase a copy of these books for me. I’m not doing that. I don’t expect anybody to buy books I want to read, other than myself. If I receive copies as gifts from friends or family for an occasion, then that’s fair and I’m really grateful. I don’t expect anything though, so I’m not setting up this facility.

Anyway, enough waffle. The books on this list broadly fall into two main categories – sequels or books awaiting publication. There are just a few exceptions to this rule and I’ll talk about those later in the post.

 

Awaiting Publication

It’s not very often I find myself waiting on a new release that isn’t a sequel. By far, I read more books in a series than I do standalones. Some of these books have been on my list for sometime, but others are also fairly recent.

The Doors of Stone by Patrick Rothfuss is by far the oldest book awaiting publication on my TBR. I remember really enjoying The Name of the Wind and The Wise Man’ Fear – the first two books in the series, as a teenager. I have also read The Slow Regard of Silent Things, but I didn’t enjoy this novella quite as much as I did the other books. We have been eagerly awaiting this third novel in the series for so long that I will have to go back to the beginning once we get a publication date so I’m back up to speed; I haven’t read these books in about 10 years. At one point I had physical copies of the series, but I don’t think I do anymore. So, I’ll probably buy a Kindle copy.

Another big one on my list is The Winds of Winter by George R. R. Martin. The good thing with this is that I am far more up to speed with the events of this series. I have read the books multiple times and watched the series as well. It will be interesting to see if the book surpasses my expectation based on the series! As I have the rest of the series in paperback (as well as Kindle and audio), I’ll definitely be looking to purchase The Winds of Winter in the same way.

The last book in the section is one that I’ve added to my TBR recently. I read Empire of the Vampire by Jay Kristoff last month and it has been my best read of 2022 so far. The second book in the series is currently in the works and when I was doing some research, I couldn’t even find a title or cover for it yet. So, as a placeholder, I’m just going to have to call it Empire of the Vampire #2. This is certainly going to be a physical copy, and if I can, I’ll get a hardback so I’m consistent with my existing copy of Empire of the Vampire.

 

 

Sequels

Sequels by far make up of the majority of this list when you include the three books awaiting publication as well. However, the section is dedicated to sequels of books I’m reading that have been published and I am free to get whenever I’m ready.

Golden Son is the second book in the Red Rising series by Pierce Brown. As I enjoyed the sound of the first book, I decided to pick this up as something different. It is a dystopian science-fiction novel and it’s one that I enjoyed far more than I expected to. I purchased this original book on my Kindle and so I’ll be doing the same with Golden Son.

Firefight is also the second book of the series, but this one is Brandon Sanderson’s The Reckoners series. I’m really loving Brandon Sanderson‘s writing, but if I purchased every single book of his I enjoyed, I would have no room left in the house. Instead, I will probably cherry pick the best of the best once I read more of his work to own in physical copies. So, when I get my hands on Firefight, this will also be on my Kindle.

My second Brandon Sanderson book in the section is Cytonic. Contrary to what I’ve just said above, I already own copies of Skyward and Starsight in physical format. In fact, I am reading Skyward right now and I’m really enjoying the book. It’s different from his usual works as it is written for a younger YA audience. If I go onto enjoy this series as much as I think I will, then this is one of his I will be keeping. However, I’ll see how I go before I commit to purchasing the third book in paperback.

Lastly, I have some books from a reasonably new to me author on this list – Robin Hobb. I have just dived into Assassin’s Apprentice earlier this month, and I’ve already purchased physical copies of the rest of that trilogy ready to read. I fully expect to love these books!

What I also enjoy about the structure of her books is that there are multiple series within the same realm. I have just The Farseer trilogy for now, but there are plenty of other books to dive into later on – and that’s what I’m going to be doing.

I’m going to complete The Farseer trilogy first before I commit to buying any more books, but I fully expect that I’ll get the rest of the series in paperback too.

 

Other

I have a few anomalies on this list that do not fall into the above categories.

Technically, I already own a copy of The Handmaid’s Tale by Margaret Atwood. However, I’ve already read this book twice and I know it’s one I would like to go back to time and again. I also have a copy of The Testaments in physical format, and so I would like to backfill and purchase a physical copy of The Handmaid’s Tale (in hardback if possible, to match).

I also have a book that is not directly a sequel, but is part of a series written by Elizabeth Wein. It’s not directly a sequel as it doesn’t follow on from the same characters; instead, it follows events and different characters throughout World War II. I read Code Name Verity on my Kindle (which is technically the third book of the ‘series’) and so I would like to get Rose Under Fire in the same way. Depending on how well I get on with his book, I might go back and read the first two books.

The last book on my list is the real anomaly because it is the start of a series as opposed to a sequel. I’ve read and enjoyed numerous books by one of the co-authors. Not only that, but the way in which the book is written makes me want a physical copy, as the story is told through compiled media. Much like The Appeal by Janice Hallet, Illuminae isn’t straight prose. There is a lot more to take in and it is far more of a visual experience. I’ve known I want a physical copy of this book (and probably the rest of the series if I enjoy it) since I added it to my TBR.

So, those are my top ten bookish wishes! I hope you’ve enjoyed today’s post and taking a look at which books I have my sights on.

Did any of the books in today’s post catch your eye? What are your bookish wishes? I’d love to know in the comments!

 

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Discussion Post – Get Out of Your Comfort Zone!

Choosing to pick up a book outside of your comfort zone can be scary. What if you don’t like it?

Well, I suppose you can say that you’ll never know if you don’t try it! Today’s discussion post is all about trying to encourage anyone to try reading something out of their comfort zone now and again. I read a lot, and I read the vast majority of genres. That wasn’t always the case though. However, there are genres and topics that I consider myself ‘not to read’. That’s not to say I don’t pick them up once in a while! How do you know you don’t like something unless you take the plunge and give it a go?

If you want to try something new, but don’t quite know how to do it, you can find some suggestions below that might help you on the right track… Or prove to you that your judgement was right in the first place. Who knows? You win some and you lose some!

 

Try a new genre/sub-genre/combination

With such a wide variety of books out there, there is no way you have tried every single possibility. It may be that you have never tried one of the main genres before. Before I started my blog, I wouldn’t pick up horror books. It wasn’t something I thought I’d enjoy.

As a first step, I decided to pick one of the most prominent authors in that genre – Stephen King, and give one of his books a try. My first ever read was The Green Mile. Not only is he an iconic author of the genre, but I picked this book because I was familiar with some the story. I hadn’t ever watched the film in full, but I’ve seen enough snippets of it that I had a rough idea of what was going on. That helped immensely! Having some sense of familiarity helped me gel with the story, and let the new experience of the author and his writing style (and the genre) shine through. I’ve gone on to read a number of King’s books, with plenty more still on my TBR.

Sometimes it isn’t as easy as that though. Maybe you don’t know or recognise a prominent author to start with. In which case, I would recommend picking up a book that ties into multiple genres… or is of an audience you relate to. For example, if you want to try to read a book aimed at a younger audience as opposed to an adult book, choose one in a genre you already know and like. Likewise, if you want to try and branch out into another genre, find a book where that genre overlaps with one you already know you get on with. There are so many combinations nowadays that I think you can find something to get you started.

 

Book Clubs/Buddy Reads and Readalongs

If you need a push to pick up something new, then joining a book club or a readalong can be a great way of encouraging you to do so. A group may be able to vote on the book chosen, but ultimately, it’s the overall result from the group that decides what book gets picked up.

And sometimes, that’s not the one you want.

There is nothing wrong with this; in fact, I’d argue that this is a great thing. Not only does it give you the encouragement to try something you wouldn’t pick up on your own, but it also gives you the opportunity to talk about why you come to like it (or don’t – that bit’s up to you). It makes you think about your reading tastes and really define what works for you and what doesn’t. You can then take that forward and try new books with that element that you have found you liked. And who knows, by reading other books that have the same, you may find another topic/theme/genre that you haven’t come across before and also enjoy. And so it snowballs.

If you don’t have the confidence to be a part of a group, then having a trusted friend instead could be a solution. It will be a lot easier to read the book together and pace yourselves in such a way that you can have a more structured discussion every few chapters, if you wish, or even just be able to meet up more regularly to talk about it and have more detailed/meaningful conversations!

 

Recommendations

We can only read so many books in our lifetime, but one of the most valuable resources we can use when it comes to sharing the book love and recommendations is each other! We all have our own slightly different tastes, but we can also have a lot in common with others. If you have a trusted person or a group of individuals with which you have a lot in common, they can give you some really good recommendations that align really well with your tastes. Maybe you already take them up on some of them.

But, it is also true that they can recommend great books that don’t necessarily fit in to your idea of ‘your kind of book’. If you already trust this person’s opinion regarding your similarities, then it’s a reasonably safe bet to trust them on your differences too. They are the best people equipped to give you a recommendation, so why not take a chance and take them up on it?

 

If in doubt, don’t wig out – understand you reading tastes

You aren’t going to love every single book on the planet. For most of them, there’ll be things you like and things you don’t. I have a pretty good idea of what I like and what I don’t like based on my diversity of reading. That is something that comes with experience… and pushing the boundaries now and then.

For example, I don’t really enjoy romance as a genre. However, I will occasionally pick one up (I read The Duke & I by Julia Quinn in May), or read a book where this overlaps with another genre, such as historical romance or fantasy romance. I read The Duke & I, and overall I neither loved nor hated it. There were bits I didn’t like, and unless you read books like that, you don’t really understand what it is you don’t like about them.

My biggest problem with this book is that it flaunted how characters are treated differently based on gender. Men are deemed attractive if they are roguish and rakish, but women couldn’t possibly put a foot out of line or be seen doing anything inappropriate lest they ruined theirs and their family’s reputation. That is what I don’t like… and that’s not necessarily a reflection on the book.

Another example; I have previous experience where I have not enjoyed a book that was not written in traditional prose. Yet, I’m currently reading The Appeal by Janice Hallett, and the story is told through the written communications between characters (text messages, emails, letters etc). Just because I didn’t enjoy the writing style of Girl, Woman, Other by Bernadine Evaristo, that doesn’t mean I’m not going to enjoy The Appeal either. Neither are written in traditional prose, but they are both very different from each other too.

Another example of this is Sleeping Giants by Sylvain Neuvel. The story of this book is told through interviews of characters after the events of the book have happened, and one of the characters (the interviewer), we don’t know at all. These are all completely different styles, but all testament to the fact that you shouldn’t dismiss one because they have a loose similarity to another. Of the three books, I disliked one but enjoyed the other two.

Instead, define more precisely what you don’t like about a book. The thing I didn’t enjoy about Girl, Woman, Other is that it was written like prose, but it lacked the traditional grammatical structure we expect.

You can see in both of these examples that I have read books out of my comfort zone, and from that experience I’ve been able to take away exactly what I liked and didn’t like. Yes, I didn’t like the gender differences in The Duke & I, but I liked the narrative style. It was easy to read and despite my niggles, it didn’t stop me finishing the book.

On the other hand, I couldn’t finish Girl, Woman, Other by Bernadine Evaristo. One of the biggest factors for me is a book’s writing style, and if I really can’t get on with it then it doesn’t matter how good the story is – I can’t finish it. Again, this is something that I’ve learned through experience. I’ve picked up books that haven’t worked out for me, and that’s fine. You don’t have to love everything you read. And if you are concerned about spending money on books to then not enjoy them, then there are ways around this too. If you have an e-reader, you can download a sample to try the book before you buy. Many people will probably have access to a library, or at least an e-library. So, if you’re really not sure, try and borrow it!

 

Conclusion

Try to push your boundaries now and again. You don’t have to do it very often, you don’t have to do it very much. How far you want to take it is entirely up to you, as is the means in which you do so. All I can say is that I have learned a lot about my reading preferences by trying something out of the box.

There are times when it doesn’t work, and that’s fine. You’ve learned from it. There have been many more times where I have found something that I’ve really enjoyed and gone back to again; the experience has broadened my horizons. And I will continue to do so. Once upon a time I was a teenage girl who almost exclusively read fantasy books. Look where I am now… still a predominant fantasy reader, but I also read a wide variety of genres around that. All because I pushed my boundaries.

As with everything, reading taste evolves. I’ve already established that mine has changed significantly in the last 10 years. But just because I’ve pushed the boat out before, it doesn’t mean I’m going to stop reading out of my comfort zone. I want to pick up new and different books. One of the biggest changes I would like to make is incorporating more non-fiction into my TBR.

Dare I say it, I want to try my hand at romance books that tackle difficult topics. I really enjoyed Me Before You, which centres around a character who wishes to end his own life. That was a romance and I really enjoyed it, even though it was upsetting to read. There are romance books that centre around abuse and other less savoury elements of life rather than just mushy plot lines. Who’s to say I won’t enjoy those? I can’t… until I’ve read them at least. 

If I can push myself, I have every faith that you can too, and I hope this post gives you some inspiration to do so and how to go about it if you’re not sure!

When was the last time you tried something out of your comfort zone?

 

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Monthly TBR – June 2022

Hello and welcome to my June Monthly TBR post!

I had a fantastic month of reading in May and I’m keen for the run to continue. Last month I put one less book on my list, purely because one of the reads I planned to pick up was over 700 pages long in its own right. I’m glad I picked this up and read it though because it has become my favourite read of 2022 so far! It’s going to be a tough one to beat, but I’m not averse to finding something even greater.

I can’t lie, I’ve had a bit of a challenge setting myself a TBR. I had one all planned out that I was excited for, but I’ve changed it several times since. Clearly I’m in a very changeable mood at the moment. I don’t want to stifle myself by committing to a list of books that I then lose enthusiasm for as I pick them up, so I’ve made a decision to have a very flexible TBR this month. So, most of my reads are going to be mood reads. As you know, I normally only set a couple of those a month, but I feel like it’s the right thing to do with my mindset at the moment.

This may also work in my favour. I have an exam to sit at the end of the month that naturally I am revising for more than ever, so having less commitments can only be better for me in that sense.

 

Fixed Reads

Wolf of Mercia

I’m only setting one fixed read this month because I’m taking part in a blog tour for this book on the 10th of June. That’s only really just around the corner, and so I picked this up in the last couple of days already to really try and make progress with it.

So far I’ve been successful and as of writing this post I am just over 70% of the way through this book. I’m really enjoying how it’s going and the character progression that has taken place since Son of Mercia, the first book in the series, that I reviewed earlier this year. I can’t wait to bring my full thoughts on the book to you in my blog tour post on the 10th.

 

Mood Reads

Norse Mythology

I have a bit of a rocky relationship with Neil Gaiman, however I’m going to give him one last try with his retelling of Norse myths. I feel like this is fairly safe territory, but we will have to see. If I don’t get on with this book then I’m pretty much going to swear off Neil Gaiman completely. He is quite a big name in the fantasy genre but the highest rating I’ve ever given him is a three star. I didn’t like another book of his even though I finished it and I’ve DNF’d others. I actually bought this copy of North Mythology several years ago before I went on to read some of the books of his that I didn’t like, so that’s how I ended up having a copy. We’ll see how this goes!

 

Assassin’s Apprentice

Not long ago I shared the First Lines Friday post in which I gave you insight into a book I was going to read later this year. Robin Hobb has been on my radar for such a long time and having sampled Assassin’s Apprentice on more than one occasion, I’ve decided now is the time to read it. I’ve seen a couple of booktubers (book bloggers who review their reads on YouTube, in case you aren’t familiar with the term) talking about later books in the series/universe and that has prompted me to decide to pick this one up now. I always knew I was going to pick it up later this year, but I think it’s going to be sooner rather than later.

As this is a mood read this is subject to change, but I’m hoping not! I’m quite excited for this one! 

 

Skyward

I’m a huge fan of Brandon Sanderson and having copies of both Skyward and Starsight on my bookshelves has prompted me to think about picking up the series.

I’ve also heard a little bit about it recently as well, and I’m ready to give this new one a try. What I really like about Brandon Sanderson so far is that I have enjoyed every one of his wide catalogue of books. They are all different, unique and have their own magic systems and plotlines, but it doesn’t matter. He has a way of writing them in such a way that every single one is enjoyable for their uniqueness and I can’t fault him.

 

The Appeal

The last book I’m going to put on my mood read list is The Appeal by Janice Hallett. I received a copy of this book for Christmas from my sister’s boyfriend Chris and what interests me about this book is that the story is told in different mediums. Rather than the typical prose we are used to, the story is told through the likes of emails, text messages and letters between characters. It’s a unique way to tell a story and I think it will be good for me to have a little bit of change and pick up something different.

 

If I get through all these books this month, then great! I’ll continue with the reading and keep you up-to-date with my Sunday Summary posts as to what I pick up next. I may not though… and that’s fine. I do have the likes of preparing for my exam to think about (and that comes first)! Once that’s done I’ll have plenty of time and opportunity to carry on reading.

I honestly can’t predict how progress with my June TBR is going to go. So far things are looking really great as I’ve nearly read my first book of the month already. That may change depending on what I pick up or what demands I have personally that I need to deal with first. I’ll just have to go with the flow this month. I definitely think that going with a more fluid monthly TBR this time is the way to go… And at the end of the month I can reflect on that and we can see whether this is something I want to adopt a little bit more permanently or not.

For now, that’s all for me in today’s June TBR post. What are you reading this month? Have you read any of the books on this list and if so, did you enjoy them? I’d love to know what you think!

 

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Monthly Wrap-Up – May 2022

Welcome to today’s Monthly Wrap-Up for May 2022. Another month has just flown by, and it’s time to talk about the books I have read recently.

I set myself a TBR with slightly fewer books this month, purely because one of them was a large one. It’s also the read I enjoyed the most this month! If you’re interested to find out what that is, and you can check out what I’ve been reading below:-

 

Books Read

Crowfall

The beginning of this month I concluded a re-read of a trilogy that I dived back into this year. Around the end of February, I decided to pick up Blackwing by Ed McDonald as a means of escapism. I really loved picking that up again for the first time in several years, and at that point I committed to a full re-read. Given that I had not long finished my Harry Potter re-read, I had no other commitments in that sense. I read the second book of the trilogy, Ravencry, right at the end of April. I immediately picked up Crowfall as I was so invested, and nothing could hold me back!

I read Crowfall in just a handful of days… even quicker this time than the first (which took less than a week even then!) I’m glad I decided to pick up this series on a whim, and even more so that I have read the rest in quick succession. It really gave me the opportunity to delve a little bit deeper into the books. Even though I knew what was going to happen, I could appreciate the writing style and characterisation all the more!

 

The Duke & I

The next two books I read this month were almost read in tandem. I read approximately 70% of The Duke & I by Julia Quinn before going on holiday. I took my kindle with me, but I decided to pick up the physical book designated as my ‘holiday read’ whilst I was away and so The Duke & I was put slightly on the back burner. However, I picked this up again once I came back from holiday and finished the remainder of the book in one sitting.

The Duke & I is a bit of a strange choice for me. I picked it up because I’ve enjoyed the Bridgeton series on Netflix (against all odds). I knew I would go into this book and probably not love it, and I was right. I have niggles with it and I didn’t necessarily enjoy every aspect, but I didn’t hate it either. Obviously, I managed to finish the book, but I won’t be reading any more of the series either. I decided to read The Duke and I as a means of branching out and to explore whether my taste on the genre has changed. It hasn’t. The reading of it has served its purpose and I can say I’ve given it a go.

 

Empire of the Vampire

As I said in the above section, I ended up putting down The Duke & I to read my ‘holiday read’. Most people would probably go for something quite lighthearted and maybe even summery as a holiday read. I chose a big, thick Gothic fantasy. If that doesn’t tell you a lot about me, then I don’t know what does. I’m not normal to say the least!

Empire of the Vampire by Jay Kristoff was also a slight branching-out for me. I don’t normally read books based around vampires as characters. I don’t know why, it’s just not something I gravitate towards. However, my love of the Nevernight trilogy, also by Jay Kristoff, was the motivating factor behind me getting this book anyway. I trusted that even though it was out of my comfort zone a little, his writing was going to help me bridge the gap. I’m glad in my resounding faith, because it paid off entirely!

I didn’t read as much of this as I intended to on holiday. I was away with my family and I ended up spending more time generally socialising with them and enjoying other hobbies. I was one of the youngest people there but I’m sure plenty found it funny that I took my knitting on holiday with me. No shame. Anyway, I read around about 300 pages (40%) before returning from holiday and I read the rest of the book the week after (after finishing The Duke & I).

Empire of the Vampire was a resounding five star read, and I can safely say that it has been my favourite read of 2022 so far! Sometimes stretching out of your comfort zone really does pay off!

 

Dune Messiah

The last book I picked up this month was Dune Messiah by Frank Herbert. I was hoping to get this finished just before month end, however, I didn’t quite achieve that despite my best efforts. Dune Messiah may be short, but it’s not light reading either. I’m glad it’s not longer to be honest!

I managed to read 245 pages out of 292, so I’m very close to the end. I expect to finish this today (1st June). Although I will technically be reading a portion of it in June I’m not going to include it on my monthly TBR – it’s only 40 odd pages!

 

All in all, May has been a good month of reading. I’m glad I didn’t include quite so much on my list this month as Empire of the Vampire was a large read. I’m really happy with my reading progress and my motivation to pick up a book hasn’t been greater. I’m exactly where I want to be with my reading and I’m looking forward to picking up some fantastic books next month!

What have you been reading this month? Have you got any good book recommendations? As always, I’d love to hear from you!

 

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Top Ten Tuesday – Books I Was SO EXCITED to Get, but Still Haven’t Read!

Today’s Top Ten Tuesday post topic, Books I Was SO EXCITED to Get, but Still Haven’t Read, is going to be a fun one to participate in. It’s reminded me that I have a lot of great books that I really want to read, and some of them I’ve had for an embarrassingly long time!

I have been through my bookshelves and selected my top 10 books, I’ve also got a step further and done some research to find out roughly when I got them, so you have an idea of how long I have had them for. There’s even one book, the first book, that I couldn’t put a precise date on as to when I bought it. Whoops!

Enough of the preamble; shall we jump into the list so you can find out what some of the oldest books I’m excited to read are: –

 

Malice – <2016?

I cannot tell you when I bought Malice by John Gwynne.

The only way I have been able to roughly date this book is a memory of myself packing up this book when I left a job in February 2016. I was using a paperclip as a bookmark (although I’d only got through the first few pages in reality). The paper clip had left a slightly rusty mark on the page, so that tells you how long had even been there! I have absolutely no idea when I physically purchased this book, and that makes this the oldest book on my list.

I’ve heard great things about this series and John Gwynne, so maybe this post is telling me it’s time to pick this one up at last.

 

The Shining – 07/2017

Thankfully we jump ahead a little bit with this next book, although not by as much as I’d like! Now we are in the realms of a timeframe in which I had started my blog. This book is still nearly 5 years in my possession, however, and I still haven’t read it! I have come to love Stephen King even though horror isn’t a genre I would have picked up originally. I have given other books of his a go and I have come to love them.

I have no doubt that The Shining will be just good. I feel like this would be an excellent read to pick up in autumn or around Halloween, so maybe that’s what I’ll save this one for!

 

Th1rt3en – 10/2017

When I drafted this post I put together my list in what I thought was roughly date order, but I was surprised by this book. I was convinced I’d bought this a lot later, but obviously not!

Ironically, I think my mum is more likely to read this book before I do and it’s been on my radar a lot longer. Admittedly, I hadn’t realised that this was the fourth book of a series (but the stories don’t seem connected so could be read in any order) when I picked up my copy in Waterstones. That won’t stop me though, and if my mum gives the rest of the books a really good review when you can guarantee I will be picking these up as well!

 

Fools and Mortals – 05/2018

I’ve become a huge fan of Bernard Cornwell’s The Last Kingdom, aka the Saxon Stories series. Having started this one, I saw a copy of Fools and Mortals in Waterstones and decided to give it a go based on author alone.

Don’t get me wrong, I really love the sound of the synopsis, but it’s my love of Bernard Cornwell that drove me to pick this up and see what it was about in the first place! I’m still working my way through the Saxon Stories series now, but I should think that I will pick this up long before I finish that one.

 

Norse Mythology – 10/2018

I love the idea of reading a book about Norse mythology, and given that Neil Gaiman is a well-known writer in the fantasy genre, I was really excited to buy this book.

I’ll admit that now I am a little bit more sceptical. When I bought this book I had every confidence that I was going to enjoy Neil Gaiman‘s writing, however that hasn’t necessarily proven to be the case. I haven’t hated his books, don’t get me wrong. But the best read has been a three star rating from me. I finished American Gods but didn’t enjoy it and I couldn’t even finish Good Omens, his collaboration with one of my favourite authors, Terry Pratchett.

It’s not going to stop me from picking up Norse Mythology though, as I’m hoping the subject of the book will help spur my interest.

 

Skyward – 12/2019

I used Goodreads as a good indicator of when I had purchased copies of books and added them to my TBR for this post. However, I ended up resorting to my Sunday summary update posts to find out when I purchased Skyward, because I forgot to add this onto my TBR at the time.

It turns out I bought my copy of Skyward in December 2019. When you see that date you probably automatically assume that I got it for Christmas, however I purchased it a few days beforehand with a book voucher I had one for my competition at work. I joked in that post that it was a rare occasion, and I’m pretty sure I haven’t won anything like it since.

I can’t grumble though; last year we were all given vouchers as a thank you for our work rather than a competition. They are good eggs.

 

The Boy Who Followed His Father into Auschwitz – 01/2020

We are down to the last four books on this list and in terms of recency, we just about make it into the 20s.

I added this book to my TBR back in January 2020. I recalled that at the time I had read or listened to another Auschwitz themed book around the same time, and having looked back, I had finished listening to Cilka’s Journey by Heather Morris. Whilst a morbid subject, I love books with this setting. Clearly I wanted to continue to pursue the genre further, and to date I still do!

In fact, I’ve gone onto purchase even more Auschwitz themed books in paperback since then. Strangely, this is almost a bit of a comfort read. But not really, you know what I mean!

 

Invisible Women – 03/2020

This next book on my list is a little bit different, however having read Lean In by Sheryl Sandberg recently, this is one that I’m going to make sure I end up reading this year.

Up until a couple of months ago I would not have described myself as a feminist. There are a lot of reasons why that is the case, mostly being the negative connotation that comes with the word. However, Lean In reminded me that just because people associate the word in the wrong way, that doesn’t mean that I am not a feminist. I do want equality, for women in the workplace and for men in their personal lives.

I really liked that Lean In covered both sides of the story, because men are just as pushed out of primary parental roles as women are in the workplace. It’ll be interesting to see if Invisible Women takes the same route, or if it really just focuses on women and the injustices we live day-to-day.

 

Nevernight – 02/2021

Nevernight

I really loved the Nevernight trilogy as audiobooks, and so after I finished listening to Darkdawn I decided to buy the whole trilogy to read in paperback. I must admit I thought I had bought them a little more recently than February last year, but that’s still not too long you have been sat on myself waiting to be picked up!

 

The Witches – Salem 1962, A History – 10/2021

This is the most recent book on this list. I only purchased my copy of this around about six months ago, and I’ll admit I purchased it on a whim. I happened to see it in the bookstore and I really think it’s an interesting topic.

For that reason, I will can’t wait to give this a read. However, with all the older books on my list yet to be picked up, this one might take a while to get to!

 

So, those are my top ten books I was so exited to get, but still haven’t read… yet! Have you read any of the books featured in today’s Top Ten Tuesday post? Have you now added any to your TBR? Let me know in the comments!

 

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