The Reading Rush 2019 – TBR

I plan to participate in The Reading Rush (formerly Booktubathon), which starts today and runs until 28 July.

This year, there is a website on which you can track your progress throughout the readathon.

THE CHALLENGES & MY TBR

1. Read a book with purple on the cover

I am currently reading Sweetpea by C J Skuse, which has bit of purple in the flowers on the cover. I have only 30% to go, so it’s cheating a little, but sobeit 🙂

EDITED TO ADD: Since writing the majority of this post I have already finished this one!

2. Read a book in the same spot the entire time. 

I will be reading Einstein: A Graphic History of the Father of Modern Physics by Ned Hartley and Tom Humberstone.

3, Read a book that you meant to read last year.

The Secret Life of Cows by Rosamund Young. My mother-in-law gave this to me last year and I meant to read it sooner than later, but never got round to it.  I actually started reading this a couple of weeks ago and only got about 30 pages in and decided to save it for The Reading Rush.

4. Read an author’s first book. 

Making Cocoa for Kingsley Amis was Wendy Cope’s first poetry collection as far as I can tell, so I will be reading that.

5. Read a book with a non-human main character. 

I will try and read A Black Fox Running by Brian Carter, of which the main character is a fox.

6. Pick a book that has five or more words in the title.

I have Daisy Jones and The Six by Tara Jenkins-Reid on my TBR for this month and it fits this prompt, so there we go 🙂

7. Read a book and watch the movie adaptation. 

I will read Nick and Norah’s Infinite Playlist by Rachel Cohn and David Levithan for this one. It is pretty short and it’s a fun movie.

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PS I may change things around a bit, depending how things go…

 

 

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Help me finish my July TBR…

Happy Saturday peeps!

Yes, I am doing  a TBR for July. I have not really done a monthly TBR for a while I think, as I have been trying to mood read. However, I feel like setting myself a TBR for July, for a change.

So, I have one NetGalley ARC that has a publication date of mid July, which is The King’s Witch by Tracy Borman. I might read another one if I feel like it, but there is no actual need.

I would also like to read one of the paperbacks authors have sent to me. I think I will read Little Maryam (Hamid Baig), which I have been meaning to read for a few months.

 

My current re-read of Lord of Chaos (Robert Jordan) will run into July, as I am on page 50 of 1000+!

For the rest of my reads I decided to go back to my book-buying log from last July and pick some books from that. Actually, last year July I bought loads of book, so I have quite a few to choose from.

Page one:

Page 2

The highlighted book I have already read, so I have read six out of 28 books or just over 20%. Could be worse, could be better. But as you can tell that leaves me plenty to choose  from for this July!

I am definitely reading Bloodfire Quest (Terry Brooks), as I re-read the first book in that series only a couple of months ago. I want to read at least one book in Dutch and I am thinking I may read De Boekhandelaar van Kaboel/The Bookseller of Kabul (Asne Seierstad). I don’t read enough non-fiction!

I would like to read one more, but not sure which… So if you have read any of these and  or are just curious about any of the books on that list, let me know!

Looking on my Kindle I have plenty of books there as well. I tend to buy them when they’re on £0.99 offers, cause I am cheap like that. I have quite a variety, but I think I will be reading some Kindle books while I am on holiday for the last couple of weeks of July.

So these ones are the oldest ones I have. Which do you think I should read?

I think When Dimple Met Rishi sounds like it would be a good one for a summer read. Which other one do you think I should read?

So my tentative TBR is:
Lord of Chaos (Robert Jordan)
The King’s Witch (Tracy Borman)
Little Maryam (Hamid Baig)
Bloodfire Quest (Terry Brooks)
When Dimple Met Rishi (Sandhya Menon)

So please help me choose me one more physical book from my log and a e-book from my Kindle.

Thanks a million!

WWW Wednesday: 25 April 2018

WWW Wednesdays is a meme hosted by Sam at  Taking on a World of Words. Do check out her blog and today’s post!

All you need to do is answer the following questions:

What are you currently reading?
What did you recently finish reading?
What do you think you will read next?

 

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What am I currently reading?

I have not listened to How Not To Be A Boy for over a week, but I will try and get back to it in the coming week. I am not sure how much I like it. I thought I would enjoy it more, but is just not that interesting to me. I will try and get on with it though!

I ran a poll earlier this week about what book I should read. With the results of that post, I started reading Anthony Burgess’ classic A Clockwork Orange. The way Burgess uses language means it takes a lot of my concentration to read it, but I am finding it easier as the pages go by and I am getting used to the rhythm of the words. I think I will probably end up liking it, but it’s  definitely a thought provking read.

Finally, I have also started reading The Things We Do by Kay Pfaltz. The author was kind enough to send her self-published book to me and I am really enjoying reading it. The subject of animal testing can me a bit harrowing, but I do think also is a great angle for a psychological thriller ( which it says it is on the back). It is reading away pretty easily and the writing is pretty solid. So far so good!

What did I recently finish reading?

In the past week I finished reading two very different books; How Do You Like Me Now? by Holly Bourne and Golden Son by Pierce Brown. I did not like the latter as much as I wanted to and unfortunately I have decided that the Red Rising series, contrary to super popular opinion, is not my thing. I definitely think it has a lot of merit, but it simply is not for me. I gave it 4 out of 7 stars.

I liked How Do You Like Me Now? and I gave it 5 out of 7 stars, but I do think it’s a bit forgettable.

This is where I find rating a book difficult. On the face of it, it looks like I thought How Do You Like Me Now? was a better book than Golden Son, but that is not necessarily the case. I just enjoyed reading How Do You Like Me Now? more.

What do I think I will be reading next?

I really want to continue the Flow series, so I would really like to pick up Break by Clare Littlemore sooner rather than later. I am also looking forward to reading Circe by Madeline Miller, which arrived in my postbox last week. It’s GORGEOUS! I also have a couple of ARCs I would like to get to soon.

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What have you been reading? What are you reading? What do you plan on reading?

Top 5 Tuesday: Five(six or seven)-star-predictions

Top 5 Tuesday is a meme hosted by the lovely Shanah over at the Bionic Book Worm.

I like this one. I rarely give full marks (7 stars in my case), but six stars is a really good rating for me.

Looking at the books I hope to be reading in the next few weeks/months, these are my six/seven-star predictions:

Circe (Madeline Miller)

This sounds like an amazing book. I love myths and legends, but I know very little about Circe. I have heard such good things and I can’t wait to read it!

 

The Hate U Give (Angie Thomas)

There has been so much hype surrounding this book, but from what I have seen from bloggers I trust, it is completely justified. I am just waiting a bit longer to read it, but I fully expect to love it.

 

Royal Assassin (Robin Hobb)

The second book in the Farseer Trilogy. I loved the first book and I fully expect to love this one just as much.

 

 

Break (Clare Littlemore)

I really loved the first book, Flow, and I am so looking forward to reading this second book in the series very soon. This is dystopian YA set on a flooded world.

 

The Way of Kings ( Brandon Sanderson)

I have been meaning to read a Brandon Sanderson book for ages! I am going to start with this one and I hope I will love it!

Down the TBR Hole #5

I thought I would do another Down the TBR Hole, a very useful meme created by Lost In A Story.

Most of us bookish folk will end up with way too many books we have added as to-read on Goodreads. Try this for a solution!

It works like this:

• Go to your Goodreads to-read shelf
• Order on ascending date added
• Take the first 5 (or 10 if feeling adventurous!) books
• Read the synopses of the books
• Decide: Keep or Go?

So, let’s have a look what we have…

The Books:

1. The Wrath and the Dawn (Renee Ahdieh)

I already have this one on my Kindle, but it has been for a while. I still plan on reading it though. I think this is one of those books I will enjoy,

Verdict: KEEP

2. Eerie (C M McCoy)

Described as a paranormal teen romance, I read the synopsis for this one and I don’t think this one is for me at all.

Verdict: GO

3. I Wish For You (Camilla Isley)

Hmm, this looks like chick-lit with a bit of magic thrown in. The story sounds kind of cute and I don’t have (m)any pink books…. Hmmm, is that reason enough? No… I don’t think I would be reaching for this anyt time soon.

Verdict: GO

4. The Color of Our Sky (Amita Trasi)

This sounds like a heartbreaking story. I am not sure whether I will be quite in the mood for this any time soon. I will take it off my TBR for now. I can always put it back.

Verdict: GO

5. Red Sister (Mark Lawrence)

Murderous nuns? Yes please. I think I will give this one a shot at some point. But then I do want this cover, cause I don’t like the other one. I’m superficial lilke that!

Verdict: KEEP

That’s another three gone! Wahey!

My three oldest unread books

So, I was browsing my book shelves and came across these three books that I have owned for close to twenty years that I still have not read. Last year I made a conscious effort to read some of my longest TBR books, but these are the three I am yet to read. My aim is to read all three of these in the next three months.

Orange Horse (Maeve Kelly)

The hopes, passions and despairs of women struggling with the constraints and dilemmas of everyday life are captured with Maeve Kelly’s characteristic powers of empathy and insight in this remarkable collection of short stories.

I don’t read enough short story collections and clearly I have been leaving this on my shelves in favour of other books. However, this sounds like it could be really good, so no way am I getting rid of it without reading it.

Roth (Glyn Hughes)

Leonard Roth, a flamboyant and feted painter of expressionist landscapes, has reached possibly the last day of his life. His wife, who sacrificed her career as a painter to his, has left him and the vultures of the art market are gathering. On a cocktail of drugs and alcohol Roth confronts his present and destructive past, a journey which leads deep into the artistic mond and to the heart of creativity.

This book has a single review on Goodreads, which makes me really want to read it. It sounds quite interesting to me and it’s not a big book, so I want to pick this up in the next couple of months.

The Origin (Irving Stone)

He did not mean to rock the world. He meant only to know the truth. But before he was done, Charles Darwin would shake the faith of centuries… would be reviled as a fiend, deounced as a madman – and finally hailed as a genius.

This is a fictional account of Darwin’s life. The size of the book has always put me off (over 700 pages), but the subject does ound really interesting to me. I can’t part with this book without reading it, so I will do my best to do so in next three months.

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What are the three oldest unread novels on your shelves? I would love to see them! Will you join me in reading your three oldest physical TBR books in the next three months?

Down the TBR Hole #3

This is my third installment of Down the TBR Hole, which was created by Lost In A Story. It has been a while since I did one of these and I was going through my Goodreads TBR and figured it was about time!

A lot of us end up with large unwieldy lists of books we have added as to-read on Goodreads. This is the solution!

It works like this:

• Go to your Goodreads to-read shelf
• Order on ascending date added
• Take the first 5 (or 10 if feeling adventurous!) books
• Read the synopses of the books
• Decide: Keep or Go?

So, let’s have a look what we have…

The Books:

1. Secondborn (Amy A Bartol)

I so cannot remember adding this to my TBR. Looks like a dystopian novel and the premise sounds sort of interesting. Not sure… Maybe for now…

Verdict: KEEP

 

2. Ciao, Suerte (Annie McGreevy)

I vaguely remember this one, but I am not that interested in the premise, so….

Verdict: GO

3. The Long Song (Andrea Levy)

This book sounds like an interesting read and is set in Jamaica towards of the slavery era. I still want to read this.

Verdict: KEEP

 

4. Summer’s Lease (Carrie Elks)

No idea what this is or why I added it. *scratches head* It does not really sound like my thing. Maybe someone raved about it, but I can’t remember… Easy decision!

Verdict: GO

5. Strange Practice (Vivian Shaw)

This sounds like quite a fun book, so I think I will be keeping it on my TBR a while longer.

Verdict: KEEP

 

6. Where The Light Falls (Allison Pataki & Owen Pataki)

Set during the French Revolution, the premise sounds so up my street, I just have to read it at some point.

Verdict: KEEP

7. The Exile Carpet: Dreamscapes (E R Blake)

It still sounds kind of interesting, but there are too many other books I would probably read first.

Verdict: GO

 

8. The Intuitives (Erin Michelle Sky & Steven Brown)

Yep, I still like the sound of this.

Verdict: KEEP

 

9. Lighthouse Jive (Jonathan Dunne)

I can see why I would have added this, but I do not think I would be getting it any time soon, so off it goes…

Verdict: GO

 

10. The Color Project (Sierra Abrams)

Love the cover, but the premise does not interest me anymore.

Verdict: GO

 

So out of the ten I kept five and knocked five off my TBR. That’s pretty good!

Did you read any of these books? Am I right to keep/let them go? Are they on your TBR?

 

 

Non-Fiction November & a small fiction TBR

I had already jotted down a few books to read in November when I stumbled across Non-Fiction November, created by Booktubers Olive and Gemma. Well, what finer excuse could there be to shake up my reading habits and add a bit more non-fiction to my TBR.

NON-FICTION NOVEMBER

So, Non-Fiction November includes four one-word prompts: Love, Home, Scholarship and Substance. You can interpret them anyway you want, which I like. So these are the books I have gone for:

 

Home:  Humble By Nature (Kate Humble) – Kate Humble is probably best known as one of the presenters of BBC’s Springwatch. In this book she tells about her life as she moves from the city to a small holding in Wales. I have this one on audio book, narrated of course by Kate herself.

Love: The Horse Boy (Rupert Isaacson) – I have had this book on my shelves for ages, so this is the perfect excuse to read it. As far as I can tell it is about a man who takes his autistic son to Mongolia in search of healing and understanding. What greater love is there than the love of a parent for their child?

Substance: Reckless Daughter (David Yaffe) – Ok, I am interpreting this very loosely, but why not read about a woman who wrote songs of substance? I think Joni Mitchell certainly fills that category. I already started this one, but I will probably not continue until November. So yes, I made it fit! 🙂

 

Scholarship: Terry Jones’ Medieval Lives (Terry Jones/Alan Ereira) – Another book that I have meaning to read for ages, but has just been sitting on my shelf gathering dust. I hope it sort of fits this category? One of the writers, Alan Ereira, is a professor and I presume there will be some mentions of ‘scholarliness’ in the book. Plus it’s only 224 pages!

I also would like to get round to reading Margaret Tudor, Queen of Scots by Sarah-Beth Watkins, which is about Henry VIII’s older sister. This is a book I got for review via NetGalley and I am looking forward to reading it. This is also a book that may be pushed into December though.

FICTION TBR

Because of Non-Fiction November I have had to tone down my prospective fiction TBR.

I definitely want to read third book in Robert Jordan’s The Wheel of Time series, which is The Dragon Reborn. This is part of a buddy read on Goodreads for which I have re-read the previous two already.

 

I also want really want to read Jane Eyre (Charlotte Brontë), which I hope to buddy read with Abbey from Three Cats and a Girl. I have been meaning to read Jane Eyre for ages and a while ago I got myself this gorgeous clothbound edition, which looks fantastically autumnal. I love it and I cannot wait to read it!

I also have a few more e-books from NetGalley that I want to prioritise for this month. Some of these are starting to be Christmassy!

I imagine I will pick a couple of random books from my shelves as well, but we will see how much reading I get done!

I was going to read Wolf Hall (Hilary Mantel), but I think I will push that one on to December. It’s a massive book and I have too much to read already in November!

Have you got any reading plans yet? Are you participating in Non-Fiction November?

 

 

Down the TBR Hole #1

This is my first go at Down the TBR Hole, which was created by Lost In A Story, but the post that inspired me to do this meme was by Boston Book Reader.

A lot of us end up with large unwieldy lists of books we have added as to-read on Goodreads. This is the solution! Now, my own is not that big, but still there are 330 books on it at the moment, which is a bit silly…

It works like this:

• Go to your Goodreads to-read shelf
• Order on ascending date added
• Take the first 5 (or 10 if feeling adventurous!) books
• Read the synopses of the books
• Decide: Keep or Go?

So, here we go!

The Books!

1. The Last Unicorn (Peter S Beagle)

It’s a book about a unicorn. I think it’s a children’s book, but nevermind that. It still sounds like a story I want to read

Verdict: KEEP

 

 

 

2. Mistborn #1: The Final Empire (Brandon Sanderson)

Ah, I mentioned this in a post just the other day as a series I really want to read, so this is definitely staying where it is!

Verdict: KEEP

 

3. Farseer Trilogy #1: Assassin’s Apprentice (Robin Hobb)

 

Same as above. I mentioned this in a post just a day or two ago as a series I want to read, so no, I am not getting rid of this one.

Verdict: KEEP

 

4. Snow Flower and the Secret Fan (Lisa See)

This is hard. I do like the sound of this one, but I do not think this is a book that I will be picking up anytime soon. I have a couple of similar books on my actual physical shelves already, so…

Verdict: GO

 

5. The Handmaid’s Tale (Margaret Atwood)

 

Cannot believe this has been on my TBR for three years and I still have not picked it up! I really do need to change that. I have seen the TV series, but I still really want to read the book.

Verdict: KEEP

 

Conclusion:

So I am keeping 4 out of 5 books on my list. I almost feel I should get my hands on the four remaining books, as I do not have any of them on my physical shelf.

I had fun with this and I am looking forward to doing another one of these. Maybe next week?

 

Autumn TBR

I had hoped for an Indian summer, but September is turning out to be pretty autumnal this year, which made me think about the books I might want to read this autumn (up to the end of November).

Currently reading:

I am about 15% into The A-Z of Everything by Debbie Johnson at the moment, which I am reading via the Kindle app on my phone. It’s not the kind of book that I would normally reach for, but I just fancied something that was not fantasy or dense. I think it suits those criteria. It is ok so far. My non-fiction at the moment is My Animals and Other Family by Clare Balding, which I am listening to on Audible. I will be starting another book for a buddy read later today. Having three books on the go is one too many for me. I prefer reading two, distinctly different books, at once.

Speaking of them buddy reads:

I think I mentioned before I am doing a few Fantasy Buddy Reads on Goodreads. The first of those starts today: Robert Jordan’s The Great Hunt, which I am looking forward to re-reading. Then there’s Ken Liu’s The Grace of Kings in October and The Dragon Reborn (also by Robert Jordan) in November. I also want to join the buddy read for The Jungle Book by Rudyard Kipling for the Catching Up on Classics group, which also starts in October.

Other books I might read this autumn:
 
My next non-fiction read will be Martin Luther, by Herman Selderhuis, which the publisher is kindly allowing me to review via NetGalley. When I was at uni I did some chapters on the reformation and found it tremendously fascinating, so when I saw this book I did not hesitate.  I am really looking forward to reading this one.

Apart from that, I am not entirely sure. I have a few books I want to read in the next few months, so my possibles are:

        

• Orange Horses (Maeve Kelly) I think this is a short story collection, which would make a nice change!
• Red Rising (Pierce Brown) I keep hearing so many good things, I just need to read this book now!
• This Savage Song (V E Schwab) I still have not read anything by this author and I want to!
• Chocolat (Joanne Harris) Just feels like an autumnal sort of book!
• Wolf Hall (Hilary Mantel) For some reason I want to read this in November. Seems the right sort of time. I have to be in the mood for it though – it’s a pretty big book!
• Northanger Abbey (Jane Austen) Classics suit autumn
• Jane Eyre (Charlotte Bronte) see previous
• Wuthering Heights (Emily Bronte) yes, again, see previous
• Flame In The Mist (Renee Ahdieh) This book has been looking at me – sounds like the right kind of book for autumn too.
• Roth (Glyn Hughes) been on my TBR for way too long (15 years + *cough*) – want to read by end of the year
• The Origin (Irving Stone) also a book that has been on my TBR for years – a fictional account of Charles Darwin’s life I believe.

I feel like I should add some spooky books for Halloween, but I don’t have any… Where’s a Stephen King book when you need it? Surely I have something! Will have to have a look.

If you have recommendations for spooky books for October, let me know!

I would love to hear what’s on your TBR for this autumn or if you want to suggest a buddy read 🙂 I would love to do a buddy read with someone!