Tag: sunday summary

Sunday Summary

Sunday Summary – 1st July 2018

I cannot believe we are at the beginning of a new month already! June has flown by. So, with it being the end of the week and end of the month, I have a fresh Sunday Summary and some new artwork to put together – all very late on a Sunday evening… oops.

That being said, I did publish my reading list earlier on today. I think I can be forgiven. Two posts in one day isn’t a regular occurrence for me!

This week has been a busy one really – on Monday I published some hints and tips about what to expect going self-hosted. I think that turned out to be a useful read for a few people. If you haven’t checked that out already, I would be grateful if you did. When putting the post together I wanted to relay advice I hadn’t come across on other blogs on the subject. Maybe someone will benefit from the post anyway.

Next, I featured Stephen Spotte in a guest post on Wednesday, followed by my review of his book, A Conversation with A Cat on Thursday. It is a reasonably quick read – it is remarkably funny and if you like a little history told from a new perspective, this is for you!

 

Books Read

Last week I had put Death in Dulwich aside (for a short while) to read Ravencry by Ed McDonald for an imminently upcoming Blog Tour. I carried on where I left off there, reading Ravencry and practically devouring it as quickly as feasibly possible. I am currently using quite a *small handbag, so I have had a few chuckles with my copy of Ravencry practically hanging out of it this week.

*anything accommodating less than the kitchen sink is defined as small

I finished Ravencry on Friday night in the only way that felt acceptable… with “half a buzz on”, as Ryhalt would say.

Death in Dulwich is now back on schedule, making further progress on reading that this week. I am hoping to have that read in the next couple of days. That way I can move on to The Girl in the Gallery in good time before the tour for both books.

For the first time in a couple of weeks, I have been listening to Nevernight by Jay Kristoff. Considering the length of time, I haven’t lost the storyline at all. (I would say I haven’t lost the plot, but I can’t say that with any conviction. Some may disagree as well!)

 

Books Discovered

Getting paid is always dangerous. I knew that I wanted to impose a bit of a spending ban for the next couple of weeks, so therefore I went and had a splurge beforehand. I bought three omnibuses; nearly 2,850 pages of small typeset narrative to get through… in future, anyway.

Perhaps I have a problem…

I haven’t read any of Mercedes Lackey’s books, however, I really enjoyed the very brief snippets I flicked through whilst I was in Waterstones.

When it comes to epics, I just can’t help myself! As I have shown through my love of the Discworld novels, I love books set in the same world or Universe, even if they are not directly linked.

 

Also, I found something a little different this week. I’ve been trying to get into the habit of making notes about books after I read them. It’s easier to review them when you have some thoughts fresh in your head. To help me, I bought this little book for that exact purpose. I should be able to keep track of my reading; it’s a perfect place to keep my notes in an organised way! Win-win!

If anyone would benefit from something similar, the link to the item on Amazon can be followed by clicking the picture.

So that’s me, spending ban starts now.

 

Coming Up…

I mentioned an imminent Blog Tour coming up for Ravencry by Ed McDonald. By imminent, I mean my post goes live tomorrow! I really cannot wait to share my thoughts with you on this book! Admittedly, it will be a little strange (and it hurts my OCD slightly) because I haven’t published my review of Blackwing yet. I’ll just have to get on with it.

If anyone is yet to give the series a try, then please, please, PLEASE do!! I cannot recommend it highly enough! If you are looking for an MC that isn’t afraid to get his hands dirty, is aware of his own flaws and cusses like the best of us, you’ll get on famously with Ryhalt. I sure did. If you want to know more, please check out my post tomorrow.

 

down the tbr holeA couple of weeks ago I posted my first Down the TBR hole post in about six months. I don’t plan on letting that slip again. I’ve already left it too long untended. So, on Thursday I will be re-visiting my TBR and reviewing the next ten books on my list to decide whether they stay or go.

 

Sunday SummaryAs ever, my week will have it’s my usual round-up on Sunday!

 

 

 

 

 

What have you been reading this week?

Sunday Summary June 2018

Sunday Summary – 24th June 2018

Good evening folks! Another week draws to a close and it’s time to share my weekly progress (aka Sunday Summary) with you. I anticipated that this week was going to be less productive than my previous week, because:-

  • Last week was a good week for me, by any standards
  • I have had a redecoration project planned

 

I had a couple of days of work this week (yay!), but due to redecorating, they were FAR from relaxing!. As a result, I can’t say I managed to read as much as I hoped to. I’ve also been doing my fair share of writing blog posts, so I suppose I can claw that time back in the next day or two instead.

 

Books Read

My week began with finishing Blackwing by Ed McDonald – and what a way to start a week. I devoured this book in about two days, which speaks volumes about how much I enjoyed it! With a page count of approximately 380 pages, I am actually pretty impressed with myself on this one!

I swiftly moved on to Death in Dulwich by Alice Castle, first of two books in the London Murder Mysteries series I am reviewing next month. So far I am 28% through the book, which isn’t horrendous progress, but I would have liked to have read a little more on this one. Perhaps next week will be more fruitful.

My review copy of Ravencry arrived this week and I haven’t been more excited for a book in a little while. As I am due to be reviewing this early next month rather than mid next month, I started reading this as well. Admittedly, this is why Death in Dulwich was put on the back-burner – a girl has to prioritise somehow! I’ve acquainted myself with the first 45 pages or so, but after this, I had to prioritise redecorating, so I’m no further than that.

All in all, this isn’t the worst week I’ve had reading – actually taking the time to look at it properly; it doesn’t seem as bad as I thought it was. Maybe I shouldn’t be so hard on myself.

 

Books Discovered

I’ve added Bard – The Odyssey of the Irish by Morgan Llewellyn to the TBR on the recommendation from a friend. We were discussing our mutual interest in historical fiction books when he told me about it. Since Ireland is close to home, it’s only fair to learn how and by whom the country became inhabited.

I read a fantastic review of The Court of Broken Knives by The Tattooed Book Geek today; such a good review that it makes me want to read it for myself. I want to try and read more from the Dark Fantasy sub-genre and this seems like a good place to start!

 

 

Coming Up…

Three Things Noone tells you about going self hostedI already have tomorrow’s post prepared for you – which is a rarity on my part! It’s a topic I decided to write about a couple of weeks ago. You may know that I recently transferred my blog from wordpress.com to wordpress.org. After researching and completing the process, I felt there wasn’t much information out there about what to expect after going self-hosted. Hopefully, my post tomorrow will give you a few pointers about what to expect.

 

I’m really looking forward to sharing Wednesday’s post as it was kindly contributed by the author of A Conversation with A Cat, Stephen Spotte. I was recently provided with a copy by OpenBooks in exchange for a review. Stephen has prepared a humorous insight into his book and the top cat that inspired his work, Jinx.

Naturally, my review of A Conversation with A Cat will follow on Thursday. I hope you can take a minute or two out of your day to check out my thoughts.

 

Sunday Summary June 2018My Sunday Summary will take usual pride of place – and I hope to be sharing news of a more productive week.

 

Sunday Summary June 2018

Sunday Summary – 17th June 2018

Since today is Father’s Day, it won’t be a surprise that I have been spending the day with my Dad. I do every weekend. Not only is Sunday a family day (at least it is here) – it’s also an opportunity to look back and reflect. So firstly, happy Father’s Day Dad! I wouldn’t be half the person I am without you!

(literally)

Whitney Houston not funny

ANYWAY… shall I just get on with what I’ve been reading this week? Yes. Alright. Good.

 

Books Read

Many books have been read this week, my friends.

I’ve been reading The Irrationalist by Andrew Pessin for the past couple of weeks or so and it was great to see this wonderfully detailed novel through to its unexpected conclusion! It took little longer to read because it requires full concentration. As a historical fiction fan, I thoroughly enjoyed the book and its twists and turns.

The next book I picked up was A Conversation with A Cat by Stephen Spotte. I kid you not, I think I read it in two sittings within 24hrs… or near as dammit. Sticking with the historical fiction genre, this book looks back at the life of Cleopatra from a unique perspective. As a period of history I haven’t really had the opportunity to study, I devoured the content of this book. My experience of Cleopatra comes from reading “Antony and Cleopatra” in GCSE English. An essay was garbled together. Somehow. Sorcery must have been performed, because to this day, I have very little recollection of what happened. I can’t read Shakespeare for love nor money – I keep threatening to teach myself.

Anyone regularly reading my updates may notice that this week, I haven’t included Nevernight by Jay Kristoff. It’s more by chance than conscious decision I haven’t listened to the audiobook at all this week. Instead, I ended up picking up a book not on my list at all! Since I have been making great progress in reading the books on my TBR this month, I felt a little break from the routine was required as a reward. Having recently obtained a copy of Blackwing to review by Gollancz, and with Ravencry due to release shortly… I couldn’t resist picking this up! I have only been reading it this weekend (well, yesterday really) and I am already just over 200 pages in. Who knows how much longer it will last until I’m done? I give it a day, at this rate.

 

Books Discovered

 

This week I’ve been pretty good, and by that I mean I’ve added the books to my list without actually dipping my hand into my pocket. Yet.

Payday is eagerly awaited this month, so I am trying to avoid spending where possible for the next week or so. I’ve got a bit of a redecorating project next week, which turned out to be a little pricier than I anticipated… but oh well. If a job is worth doing and all that.

I have enjoyed reading Brandon Sanderson so far; after spotting The Rithmatist as a suggestion on Amazon, I had to add it to the list.

Eve of Man seems to be doing a few rounds of social media lately, which coincidentally began after I saw the book in a local store. I love the idea of the dystopian type theme, but I’ll admit I have a reservation over the implied love-interest/conflict, which I probably won’t like. I’m a hard-hearted soul! For the moment I am adding this to the list and keeping an eye out for reviews before I get myself a copy. It may not be my cup of tea after all.

I pre-ordered a copy of Muse of Nightmares by Laini Taylor this week and I was reminiscing over my love of Strange the Dreamer. I decided there and then that I COULDN’T POSSIBLY wait until October for Muse of Nightmares to be released, so I am going to read Daughter of Smoke and Bone this summer. I’ve also heard nothing by praise for this, so I am looking forward to it already!

 

Coming Up…

I refuse to eff this up this week.

down the tbr holeIt’s been a while since I looked at my ever-growing TBR pile, and I really feel I need to tame that monster.  Whittling the list down is hard work, but someone has to do it. I began using a meme, originally hosted by Lia at Lost in a Story and I’ve had moderate success so far. So, I’ll be writing another Down the TBR hole post on Tuesday.

 

The Irrationalist

I want to go ahead and review The Irrationalist whilst the book is fresh in my mind. I am awful in the sense that I don’t really make notes when I read (a bad habit I am trying to remedy). Since there are a few things I really want to cover in my review, it’s best that I write it sooner rather than later. With that in mind, I’m looking to publish my review on Friday this week.

 

 

 

So that’s all from me for now folks! Enjoy the rest of your weekend and I hope to see you all around very soon!

Sunday Summary June 2018

Sunday Summary – 10th June 2018

Even the Sunday Summary post is late this week. Fabulous.

This week has been really topsy-turvy, and I feel like I’m apologising all the time for late posts. I’m probably the only person that notices. So yeah, sorry (again) for the late post. You can blame Windows updates on my laptop for this one – only after all the time and effort, it failed! That’s technology for you eh?

Anywho, here we are. Have you had a good reading week?

 

Books Read

I didn’t read as much as I would have liked this week. Again, I’ve been plagued with IT issues in getting my blog set up on a self-hosted site. Don’t get me wrong, the upgrade is certainly worth it and I’d do it all again, but I still have a number of broken links (250…ish) to fix, and that’s all after a very impatient wait to get my site transferred in the first place!

So, has the hard work paid off? What do you think of the new site?

In the moments I haven’t been inches away from throwing my laptop out of the nearest window, I been buried in one book or another. I’ve been making further progress in reading The Irrationalist by Andrew Pessin – if you want to know a little more of the story you can either check out my comments in last week’s Sunday Summary post or alternatively via OpenBooks. I would have liked to make a bit more progress on this one, but I am aiming to finish this by next Sunday’s post.

I have a Blog Tour coming up for Chilling Tales of the Unexpected, so I have also been reading the first couple of stories (out of the four within). That post is actually coming up next week, so finishing this short book is a priority for the next day or two. So far I am finding these reads really easy to either pick up as a break from heavy material or even in the few minutes before starting work. I don’t think it will take long to read the remainder of the book.

Lastly, Nevernight. Again, this is a book I am listening to and chipping away at in the mornings. I love the tone and humour in it – it really does brighten up my day! I’ll be needing the lift when the alarm goes off at 6:40 tomorrow morning, believe me.

 

Books Discovered

I have seen this book around for a while, but I confess I hadn’t read much about it or the reviews for it until last week. It has been displayed in my local *large chain bookshop* – so I decided I’d see what it was all about.

Aside from the vodka at weekends, this is just me. Routine 9-5 job, run-of-the-mill weekends… week in and week out. I think I will relate to this so much; I only wish I had looked at this sooner.

 

Coming Up…

This week, I think I am going to treat you to a Top Ten Tuesday post! We have had some absolutely fabulous weather over here – it must be a record for the longest dry-spell we have had. With that in mind, I am going to put together my Top Ten Summer reads. Maybe we’ll have some books in common!

 

 

 

So guys, as I mentioned earlier, I’ll be partaking in a Blog Tour this week for Chilling Tales of the Unexpected by Ann Girdharry. I am really looking forward to sharing my thoughts with you about this collection of short stories, so please tune in on Thursday.

 

 

 

And last, but not least, I’ll be wrapping up the week with my usual Sunday Summary post. I have actually quite enjoyed writing this post a little later in the day (writing a weekly wrap up and posting for midday on day seven seems a little strange, thinking about it). I’ve also found it a bit easier to write as I am not so time-pressured. Basically, I’m saying I am going to try this again next week.

 

I hope the wait has been worthwhile and I look forward to seeing you around! If you have a minute to drop me a line, your comments are always appreciated!

Sunday Summary – 3rd June 2018

Good morning everybody! It’s a beautiful day here; the sun is shining and I have plenty of chirpy visitors on my windowsill! I trust you are all having a pleasant day, whatever you are doing.

I have some good news to share with you soon, because it is something I have been looking into and getting excited about now for weeks…

I’m going to hold my cards to my chest for just a wee bit longer and tell you after the event. I don’t want to jinx anything… so please bear with me on this one. For now though, on to my Sunday Summary…

Books Read

So what have I been reading this week? Well, picking up from last week, I finished reading The Toymakers by Robert Dinsdale. The magic within makes you wish you were a child again. But the story has a darker side to it – one shaped by war and the effects it has on those that fight for their country.

Following on from this magical read, I picked up The Irrationalist by Andrew Pessin, which remains my current read. It is an intriguing read in which our Protagonist, Adrien Baillet, must pull apart the circumstances of the great René Descartes… death. With many a suspicious circumstance and plenty of enemies, it is difficult to believe that Descartes untimely death is natural, and Baillet can’t trust anybody but himself if he wants the truth. This is proving to be an interesting read so far, so I can’t wait to be able to tell you a little more about it.

I’ve also been listening to more of Nevernight by Jay Kristoff – and I have to say that the humour in this book is really what I need to pull me out of my morning grumpiness sometimes. I love the characters, the story and the narration is just… on point. I’ve already bought Godsgrave with my next credit!

Books Discovered

There’s just a couple of books in this section today!

I was intrigued by the write up of The Hangman’s Daughter, no doubt probably because I am reading a similar kind of murder mystery type genre presently. Not only that, its historical setting and the references to witchcraft drew me in. I think this is a series I will come to love… when I finally get around to reading it!

Caraval – I added this book to my TBR a while ago, and I have finally bought this book. Admittedly, I have done so based on the hype around it; I hope that wasn’t a mistake. I’ve obviously seen a lot of people talking about this book, and Stephanie Garber, so it will be interesting to see what my thoughts are on the book!

Coming Up…

As it is the beginning of June, I’m hoping to share my reading list with you in the next couple of days! Usually I like to commit to days I’ll post, but this week I can’t really. All will be revealed, I promise!

Later on in the week (hopefully Friday) I am planning on sharing an audiobook review with you! This time, I am reviewing The Tattooist of Auschwitz by Heather Morris… and I really can’t wait to tell you just why I loved this book!
Until next time friends,
Rebecca mono

Sunday Summary – 20th May 2018

I feel like over the past couple of weeks, my attention span and my inclination to read had dwindled a little.
That’s not to say I stopped reading, because I didn’t. I have been reading some great books, but I think the nicer weather is having it’s effect on me. I’ve spent more time out walking and enjoying the sunshine whilst I can get it than I would usually. On one such walk I also got to say hello to a poor lamb, whom the local coastguard had rescued from falling off a cliff.
It’s not something you see everyday, that’s for sure!
 

Books Read


The majority of this week was spent reading Diana Christmas by F. R. Jameson. I was kindly provided with an electronic copy of the book in exchange for a review and I would like to say a huge thanks for the opportunity. I enjoyed the characters and the setting of the book; it was refreshing to read something a little different.
After finishing Diana Christmas yesterday, I made a very brief start on The Toymakers by Robert Dinsdale. It was, however, the most cursory of beginnings… not really enough to comment on the book as yet. It is one of my last Netgalley reads, so I am looking forward to reading and reviewing it.
I also listened to more of Nevernight by Jay Kristoff this week. It’s great to be able to listen to a book – I don’t understand why some people are so against it. It’s convenient and if you have a great narrator, it really brings a story to life!
 

Books Discovered

The Six Tudor Queens KoA
You know by now that I am a historical fiction nerd.
I came across Alison Weir in a feature she has in June’s edition of Writing Magazine (I subscribe so I get editions earlier than the shops do). She discusses how she balances out writing his-fic with factual information and the research she puts into it – if it’s a genre you are interested in then I would say it’s worth a read! She has just released the third book of this series, which is the prompt for the article I suppose. I have yet to read any though, so needless to say, it’s been added to the ever-growing list!
 

Coming Up…

Next week I am reviewing two books for you! I am going to be reviewing Eternity’s Echoes, at the request of the author, on Wednesday.
I’ve decided to add this additional review next week because I feel it is long overdue. I may have only finished the book last week, but it has taken me some time to read and I am keen to share my thoughts with you all. Yes folks, I am talking about Empire of Silence by Christopher Ruocchio.
What are your plans for the week ahead?
Rebecca mono

Sunday Summary – 13th May 2018

It’s Sunday again! It barely feels like the weekend has even started, and already we are over half way through.
Weekends are just not long enough.
This week I opened up a little about myself in my review of the audiobook An Almond for A Parrot by Wray Delaney. This normally isn’t the sort of book I would pick up, however the historical setting and inclusion of magic swayed me to see what it was all about. Whilst I enjoyed the book – I won’t deny it made me feel a little awkward. You can catch the full details in my review.
 

Books Read


 
I finally finished Empire of Silence this week, and boy… was it worth the wait! I’ve been reading this book for a few weeks now, and it’s really made me think I ought to pick up science-fiction books more often. I want to thank Gollancz once again for giving me the opportunity to read this book prior to it’s release in July and I cannot wait to share a full review.
Sticking with the science-fiction theme, I have also read Eternity’s Echoes at the request of the author. A quick thank you here for providing me with an ecopy of the book. It’s a tale that explores the concept of time travel and potential consequences it may have if misused. I’ll be publishing a review shortly, so keep an eye out for that.
I also furthered my audiobook progress this week! So far I am loving the narrative of Nevernight. Not only is the story interesting, I love Mia as a character. The narrative itself is written in a clear manner, with an underlying tone of sarcastic wit that I relate to entirely; the narrator does an excellent job in encapsulating this. I can’t wait to listen to the story further!
 

Books Discovered


My first book buy of the week was Fools and Mortals by Bernard Cornwell. I love his Saxon stories series, (aka The Last Kingdom to those that only watch it on TV), and I also love everything about the stage and theatre. Picking up this book was a no-brainer for me once I saw it!
I actually received a copy of Blackwing to read and review from Gollancz a couple of weeks ago(?!)… ish. Anyway. I hadn’t added it to my blog before because I like to post to social media to thank the publisher first, which I was rather late in doing.
I have this amazing ability to be as un-photogenic as possible, and if I’m not convinced I like a picture… I won’t share it. Thank the lord for photo editing… because I still wasn’t all that great when I finally took that photo. Thanks to some cropping and a cheeky filter, I published the photo on InstagramTwitter and you were spared the sight of my hideous sunburn. It rather matched my lipstick. No joke. I am Casper the ghost in corporeal form.
 

Coming Up…

Almost a month after I read the book, I’ll be posting my review of The Boy in the Striped Pyjamas by John Boyne. I really enjoyed this book, even though the topic is less than cheery. If anyone is yet to read it, I highly recommend it. As for the film… I don’t think I could watch it. I’m weak.
Rebecca mono

Sunday Summary – 6th May 2018

Morning all!! I hope you are all having a pleasant day.
May is officially here and with that comes a new reading list for the month. If anyone is interested to see which books I’ll be reading this month, you can head on over and find my reading list here.
The “first” book of the month is a carry over from April, since it had taken me some time to read. I don’t think I can be blamed though, as this book reaches over 800 pages long. I passed the 700 mark last night, so I am on the final stretch to finishing it. I didn’t publish a review this week, as is my custom, because I am slowly catching up with myself. Instead, I published what I expected to be an unpopular post – Five Reasons I Don’t Rate Netgalley. It’s a post part of me has been itching to write for weeks… and, as it turns out, the post has had a better reception than I thought!
 

Books Read


Reading time has been focussed on Empire of Silence once again this week.
It doesn’t feel like I am giving you a particular update, as I was in the same boat last week. What I can say is that since last week I have read a further 300-and-something pages, so I am near the end of the book. I anticipate I’ll be finishing it in the next day or two.
I also started listening to Nevernight by Jay Kristoff whilst getting ready for work in the morning on Wednesday. This is something I like to do if the news is particularly dreary, or if Piers Morgan is quite frankly getting on my nerves. Let’s face it, before the first coffee of the day… this is quite a likely eventuality, yes?
This is a lengthier audiobook and I don’t always listen to them in the morning, so this will probably take me a few weeks to get through. I love audible. I wasn’t sure I would get on with audiobooks, but I have taken to them well.
 

Books Discovered

Nevernight
Much as I’ve said above, I downloaded this from Audible this week with my monthly credit. It is, however, the only book I have purchased or vowed to read this week.
It’s odd that this section is so bare, knowing what I’m like!
 

Source: Giphy
Source: Giphy

 

Coming Up…

I’m going back to my usual schedule and I’ll be posting a review on Wednesday. This week, I will be reviewing an audiobook I listened to a short while ago…. An Almond for A Parrot by Sally Garner, writing under the pseudonym Wray Delaney.
Have you read any of these books? What are you reading this month?
Rebecca mono
 

Sunday Summary – 29th April 2018

This week has been a little bit special here at Reviewsfeed (nee Readers Online), because on Monday my blog turned 1 years old!
Now there are many veteran bloggers that may laugh at that small anniversary… but it means a lot to me. As someone who finds it very hard to stick to things, I’m proud of myself for that achievement. I found a hobby that I loved during a turbulent and uncertain period in my life. As a person that likes and sticks to routine, it’s hard to introduce new things. I think already having both my personal and work life unbalanced at that time opened the door to begin the blog, as a distraction if nothing else!
As time consuming as maintaining a blog has proven to be, I stuck to it! I think it helps that I don’t have many bookish friends on this side of the screen; by blog has become my outlet to talk to masses of wonderful, like-minded people. But of course, my blog would not be what it is without the support of followers and the community as a whole. Every like or comment is really appreciated. Sometimes it still baffles me that people are actually interested in my opinions. I reckon (allowing for overlaps across social media accounts) I have around 500 unique followers… that’s an astounding figure, so thank you to all of you! I am humbled.
Anyway, I think that’s enough commemorative, sentimental babble from me – let’s get on to why you are really here, yes?
 

Books Read

Empire of Silence GR
I’ve been focussing my attentions on Empire of Silence by Christopher Ruocchio this week. I received a copy of this book from Gollancz in exchange for a review and I am so grateful for the opportunity. When I posted last week I had read 128 pages; this week the page count falls slightly shy of 400, putting me exactly half way through the book.
I love the writing style and the manner in which the story is being narrated – it really does put you in mind of Patrick Rothfuss’ The Name of The Wind! Sometimes it can take a while for me to get used to science fiction novels and their techy language, but this isn’t unapproachable. I’ve had to re-read a couple of small sections to make sure I read it properly, but that’s probably due to my late-night reading habit and more as a result of being tired!
I haven’t read any other books this week, as I want to focus on getting this one read and reviewed as soon as possible!
 

Books Discovered


 
Both of these book purchases have been courtesy of advertising via Bookbub this week. I thought The Pharmacist’s Wife sounded both intriguing and dark, and it caught my eye with it’s Victorian setting. I am a sucker for historical fiction!
You can also tell I am really enjoying the science fiction genre at the moment, as I bought the third instalment of The Long Earth series, co-written by Stephen Baxter, one of my dad’s favourite authors, and Terry Pratchett, who happens to be one of mine. I purchased The Long War not that long ago (back in February – just checked), so what I really ought to do now is buy The Long Earth, the first book in the series, so I can actually start reading it!!
 

Coming Up…

Having taken on reading a large book like Empire of Silence, I am finding myself catching up on reviews. I like to have a little buffer for precisely this reason, so instead, I am scheduling a couple of different posts this week.
A new month is upon us so on Wednesday, I’ll be bringing to you my reading list for May. Gosh, isn’t the year just flying by? I’ve also been chewing something over for a little while now, so I’ve decided on Friday I am going to be posting about why I am considering calling it a day on using services like Netgalley.
If you have any comments on anything above, I would love to hear from you, as always. May this next year of blogging be as enjoyable as the last!
Rebecca mono

Sunday Summary – 22nd April 2018

Hi everybody! I hope you are all having a lovely weekend, whatever it is you are doing.
Without looking at any of the stats or details, I have a gut feeling that I didn’t make much progress with my reading this week. Things just got in the way, and when I did have time I didn’t feel all that inclined to read. It’s a real shame, because I am reading some great books at the moment!
It’s not you, fantastic pieces of literature, it’s me…
Rather than reflect on what I haven’t done this week, let’s take a look at what I have done instead! On Wednesday I posted my review of Ekata: Fall of Darkness by Dominique Law, which admittedly, was less than complimentary of my experience reading the book. I had some nice feedback from that review actually – it’s hard to write reviews about things you don’t like for fear of crossing the line, but so far the review has been well received. In one day it received as many likes as other posts have over time.
The following day I posted Top 5 Quotes from Terry Pratchett’s Discworld… so far! I’ve read a number of books from the collection now, so it was a lovely way to re-cap through some of the older books. Picking favourites out turned out to be a lot harder than I expected!
 

Books Read (or procrastinated over…)


 
I made a bit more progress with The Seventh Scroll this week, but I find it’s a book I cannot binge read. Some parts are great and others can be on the slow side, which results in me picking the book up and putting it down again a lot. It’s also quite a lengthy one at just over 600 pages, so I don’t think I should beat myself up too much. I’m now just over a quarter of the way through the book. Truthfully, I hope the story picks up a bit soon. It’s not that I am not enjoying it, it’s the flow and consistency that isn’t there for me at the moment.
Knowing that there were times I wanted a break from The Seventh Scroll, I started reading Empire of Silence by Christopher Ruocchio. I have taken to reading a chapter or two before going to bed at the very least, and I spent an hour or so reading yesterday. I’m currently 16% through the book; whilst that doesn’t sound much, that equates to 128 pages. This is also a mammoth book!
The one piece of good news is that I finished listening to The Tattooist of Auschwitz by Heather Morris this week. I found myself so immersed in the story that until I got to the author’s note at the end, and the brief chapter written by the MC’s son, I had forgotten this is based on two real people’s experience of the camp! It’s a harrowing thought, the reminder that people were forced to live this way and suffer the way they did.

Books Discovered

A Brief History of Time.jpg
This isn’t usually the type of book I would attempt to read; whilst I like science-fiction, I’m not actually all that clued-up on the science. After his recent death, I decided that I had to at least try to read this book! All I have heard is positive things about his genius and wit, so I’ve finally added it to the list.
 

Coming Up…

Scheduling this week is going to be a little bit different! Normally I bring you a review on a Wednesday, but instead I am taking part in a Blog Tour for The Ghost of Glendale by Natalie Kleinman. Unfortunately, I didn’t have time to review this book as part of the tour, but instead I’ll be bringing you the details so you can see for yourself what it is all about!
I will post my usual review on Thursday, and this week I am reviewing my first read of the month, Soul Music by Terry Pratchett.
I hope to see you around!
Rebecca mono