Tag: Shannon Chakraborty

Sunday Summary – 7th May 2023

Hello and it’s another happy long weekend! Even if the coronation and royalty aren’t your thing… I think we can all agree that it’s great to have another cheeky day off work. We’re back once again for my weekly Sunday Summary post, in which I take you through the books I’ve been reading and talking about!

This week’s blog schedule was a bit hectic, although a mishap last week actually helped me out in the end! With this week being the beginning of May, I naturally had to share my Monthly Wrap Up post for the month of April. I read four and a half books in the month. It may not sound like much, but the first book I read in the month was 906 pages long!

This week, I also had a blog tour obligation. I had the pleasure of kicking off the tour for Eagle of Mercia by MJ Porter. That post went live on Wednesday, 3rd May. If you’re interested in historical fiction or books about British history and the Viking’s coming to Britain, this is a book in the series. You may be interested in.

On Thursday, I shared my Monthly TBR post covering the books I plan to read in May. It looks like a very ambitious list. However, when you think about it this way, the first book was a carryover from April, which I’ve now finished. Some of the books are relatively short, and another, I am taking on in audio.

On Friday, I shared a First Lines Friday post… The one I accidentally drafted last week when I got my regular features muddled up. Thankfully, I realised before I posted it, and so I scheduled it for this week instead. As I mentioned above, that ended up working out in my favour. Including this post, I’ve posted a total of five blogs this week! Having one prepared a little earlier, did me no harm whatsoever!

 

Books Read

 

The Adventures of Amina Al-Sirafi

My first priority of the week was to continue with The Adventures of Amina Al-Sirafi by Shannon Chakraborty. As of my last Sunday Summary, I was halfway through the book. 

I enjoyed the premise and the setting of this book. It is one that doesn’t get explored all that much in fantasy. Having read a couple of fantasy novels with Eastern settings, and really enjoying them, I’m definitely going to be seeking out more in future.

I do have some mixed feelings about this one. I had a vague inkling, but the storyline ended up being quite whimsical. At least, that’s how it came across to me. It was okay, but that did detract a little bit of enjoyment for me.

I wanted to read the book as a standalone before I started another series, written by the author. Having read this one, I’m not sure about the series I had in mind. I’ll probably give the first book a try. However, if it’s much like this one, I’ll probably end up there.

 

Wolf of Wessex

The next book I picked up was Wolf of Wessex by Matthew Harffy. This was the book I was supposed to pick up last month as well, but didn’t quite get around to it.

Wolf of Wessex is much like my recent read, Eagle of Mercia, in setting. I suppose the only difference is that it is set on the other side of the border! I quite liked that the book didn’t dive too heavily into historical element of the Norse coming to Britain. You could easily go into this book not really knowing much, but equally, also having an idea doesn’t really make a difference. As someone who’s read a fair bit of the genre by now, I didn’t feel overly advantaged by this pre-knowledge.

Wolf of Wessex is a fast-paced action novel. I read this book in just a handful of sittings. It ended up being a three-star rating from me because the plot and character development is quite superficial. That’s not to say it wasn’t enjoyable, but these are elements. I really enjoy in a book. They were a little bit lacking here.

 

The Waste Lands

The last physical read I started this week is Stephen King’s The Waste Lands. I made full disclosure in my May TBR post that I was going to have to go back and read up on what has happened so far in the series as a refresher. Rather spookily, I finished the prior book in the series, The Drawing of the Three, on this day in 2019! I haven’t picked up this series on for years, so it’s no wonder I couldn’t remember what was going on.

As soon as I read those summaries, I was fully back up to speed. I’ve only just started this book today, so I’m only 53 pages in as I’m writing this post. It’s a healthy start though, and it’s great to be back. It’s also been a little minute since I’ve picked up any Stephen King novel. I do like his writing style, so I’m enjoying that too.

 

As Long as the Lemon Trees Grow

The last book I have progress on which to report is As Long as the Lemon Trees Grow by Zoulfa Katouh. As I mentioned in my TBR, this is the chosen book of the month for Ezeekat’s book club. It’s very different from anything I have read for a very long time. It’s also not a book I would have necessarily thought to pick up of my own volition. In that way, I’m glad it’s come up as part of the book club.

Just this week, I have started and made my way through a third of this book on audio. Through the narrative we explore Syria and its people, ravaged by those who would fight to suppress their revolution. I’ll confess that before starting this book, I didn’t really know what the conflict in Syria was about. It is something that has been happening for many years now, and in truth, we hear little of it.

If you are content with the knowledge that the war and conflict is happening, but over there, then this book is not for you. The narrative pulls no punches in highlighting the devastation inflicted on the general population. Pregnant women and children are targeted by snipers. Men who would stand up and protest anre arrested, and death would be preferable to the treatment they receive. It’s probably not a book for everyone, but I don’t shy away from difficult subjects. I for one am enjoying it so far, and I will be making further progress with this soon.

 

Books Discovered

Much as was the case in my last Sunday Summary post, no news is good news! Given that I’ve managed to take a couple of books off the list, we are now back under 200 on my reading list.

Is it bad that I’m excited about that?!

 

Coming Up…

I’ll be slowing down the pace next week when it comes to blogging by returning to my usual three post schedule.

The first of those posts is a book review for The Feedback Loop by Harmon Cooper. I read this short science-fiction/cyberpunk novel last year and enjoyed it. I’m looking forward to sharing my thoughts with you.

Later in the week, I will be sharing the next addition in my Well, I Didn’t Know That! series. As yet, the topic remains unchristened. I have the week off work, so I’ll take some time to read some different material and find something fun to share with you all!

And as always, I’ll be here at the same time next week for another Sunday Summary.

But now, that is all for today’s Sunday Summary. I’m going to watch an episode of The Last Kingdom on Netflix, and pick up The Waste Lands before going to bed.

 

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Sunday Summary – 30th April 2023

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

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

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

 

Books Read

 

Stolen Focus

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

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

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

 

The Adventures of Amina Al-Sirafi

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

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

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

 

Books Discovered

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

 

Coming Up…

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

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

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

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

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

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

 

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

What are you reading?

 

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