Category Archives: Weekly Wrap Up

Weekly Wrap-Up!

Posted on by

Cream and Blue Brush Strokes Graduation Twitter Post

It’s been another quiet week this week as I’m still feeling exhausted and unwell. I did manage to leave the house for 20 mins when I tagged along with my husband to the supermarket. It was the first time I’d been outside since Christmas day so that was an achievement.

Thanks to everyone who has commented on my posts recently – I’m so sorry that I haven’t managed to reply. I’m also sorry that I’ve not been keeping up on reading blogs and liking, commenting and sharing. I hope to be back up to speed soon but in the meantime I really appreciate the comments, likes and shares on my posts. You’re all stars! 🙂

49672424._SX318_SY475_

I’ve barely been reading this week either so it really has been a quiet week. I’m in the middle of seven different books but I’m not in the mood for anything in particular so I’m going back and forth between them. My main read is A Dark Matter by Doug Johnstone, which is really good. I just wish my brain was up to engaging better so I could get completely swept up in the writing.

8747603

I did listen to one complete audio book this week and that was Agatha Raisin and the Haunted House by M. C. Beaton. I love dipping in and out of this series as they’re perfect escapist reads. This was the first one I’ve ever listened to and I loved Penelope Keith’s narration so may look for future books on audio!

TV-wise I’m still loving Richard Osman’s House of Games. My husband watches it if it’s on when he’s home but he’s not as invested in it as me. This week they’ve had a contestant on called Matt and my husband turned to me and told me that that man is basically me! He’s so right – the guy is so competitive whilst also having the time of his life taking part on the show! Haha!

It’s been a slow week on my blog this week too.

I posted a weekly wrap-up last Sunday where I wrote about what I’d been reading, watching and blogging about in the previous week.

On Wednesday I posted my WWW Wednesdays post where I shared what I was reading, what I’d recently read and what I hope to read next.

Then yesterday I posted my new book haul, which predominantly consists impulse buys of Daily Deals!

How has your week been? I hope you’ve had a lovely week and had time to do some reading. If you’ve shared a wrap-up post please feel free to leave your link before and I’ll make sure to visit your post. 🙂

Weekly Wrap-Up!

Posted on by

Cream and Blue Brush Strokes Graduation Twitter Post

I’ve not been very well this week so it’s been a really quiet week for me. I’ve not read as much or blogged as much as the previous week or two but hopefully I’ll be back in the swing of things soon!

49260448

 

I’ve just finished reading The Dilemma by B. A. Paris. I picked it on a whim as I’d read some good reviews of it and I flew through it. I’ve found the author’s previous novels a mixed bag but this book was so good! I just didn’t want to put it down and read it in two sittings. I recommend it if you haven’t already read it.

cover161888-medium

 

I’ve got a couple of books on the go at the moment but my main read is I Want You Gone by Miranda Rijks. I’ve had a review copy of this on my NetGalley shelf for quite a long time so wanted to make sure I picked it up before too much longer. I’m now kicking myself for leaving it so long because I’m completely invested in this novel and am really intrigued to find out what’s going to happen.

 

 

TV-wise I’m still watching Richard Osman’s House of Games every weeknight. I’m also gripped by White House Farm. I did watch a film this week too – my husband and I rented IT: Chapter 2. It’s not remotely scary but we both enjoyed the story and it kept us engrossed all the way through.

 

On my blog this week I did a weekly wrap-up post last Sunday.

On Monday I shared mini reviewsof three books: One Little Mistake by Emma Curtis, 17 Church Row by James Carol, and Dare Me by Megan Abbott.

On Wednesday I wrote about what I was currently reading, what I’d recently read or what I planned on reading next in my WWW Wednesday post.

Then yesterday I shared my book haul from this week. I got some amazing books over the last few days so am a very happy book worm!

 

How has your week been? I hope you’ve had a lovely week and had time to do some reading. If you’ve shared a wrap-up post please feel free to leave your link before and I’ll make sure to visit your post. 🙂

Weekly Wrap-Up!

Posted on by

Cream and Blue Brush Strokes Graduation Twitter Post

This week has been another quiet week as I’m still not doing so well. It has meant that I’ve been doing lots of reading though so I’m very happy to have lovely books to escape into!

25686362._SY475_

 

Just yesterday I finished reading The Murders at White House Farm by Carol Ann Lee, which was such a fascinating and in-depth book. I wanted to read more about this case after seeing the adverts for the new ITV drama based on the case and I’m so glad that this was the book I picked.

 

cover175725-medium

 

As usual I have a few books on the go at the moment but the one I’m focusing on is What She Saw Last Night by Mason Cross. It’s such an intriguing book that had me gripped from the opening pages and I can’t wait to find out what happened on this train!

 

 

TV wise this week I’ve been really enjoying Richard Osman’s House of Games, which is my absolute favourite game show ever! If you’ve never seen it it’s on BBC2 on weeknights at 6pm. I love that it involves a brain work out but you don’t need to know loads of stuff. I recommend it!

 

It’s been a busy week on the blog this week as I’ve had a new post up every day.

I posted a weekly wrap-up last Sunday and I’m hoping to keep this up as I do enjoy putting together a post of what’s been happening in the week.

On Monday I shared my review of The Choice by Claire Wade, a novel that I found both gripping and thought-provoking so I recommend it!

On Tuesday I posted my review of The Fallout by Rebecca Thornton, another book that I enjoyed. It’s all about toxic friendships plus secrets and lies, which I’m always drawn to in fiction!

On Wednesday I posted my WWW Wednesday post where I share all the books that I’m currently reading, the books I’ve read over the course of the week and what I plan to read over the next week.

On Thursday I shared a mini review posts and wrote about The Toymakers by Robert Dinsdale and It’s A Wonderful Night by Jaimie Admans. I adored both of these books, they made me happy and I now want to read everything that both authors have written!

On Friday I shared my review of The Home by Sarah Stovell. This book was stunning and I already feel like it’s going to be one of my favourite books of 2020!

Yesterday I posted another book haul! Ooops! I do want to read more of the books that I already own this year but I always find January such a hard month so I’m giving myself a pass until February!

 

How has your week been? I hope you’ve had a lovely week and had time to do some reading. If you’ve shared a wrap-up post please feel free to leave your link before and I’ll make sure to visit your post. 🙂

Weekly Wrap-Up (5 Jan 20)!

Posted on by

Weekly Wrap up SQUARE copyrighted

This week has been a quiet one for me due to additional medical issues so I’ve been escaping into books.

IMG_1045

 

I’ve developed something of a superstition in recent times around the first book I read in a new year – being that if it’s a fabulous read then I’m going to have a great reading year. Thankfully my first read of 2020 was Wham! George and Me by Andrew Ridgeley and I really enjoyed it. I read it all in one afternoon on New Year’s Day and it was a perfect start to the year.

40611376._SY475_

 

I then read the final third of a book I’d been reading on and off since Christmas – It’s A Wonderful Night by Jaimie Admans and I also really enjoyed this one. It’s festive but not so much so that I couldn’t still enjoy it after Christmas. This is definitely one I’d re-read one year over the festive period.

34846987

 

The next book I finished was also one I’d started at the end of 2019 and I loved getting lost in the world of The Toymakers by Robert Dinsdale. I’d had this on my TBR ever since it was first published and I’m so glad I finally got to it, it really is a gorgeous read.

41121395._SY475_

 

After finishing that I picked up The Choice by Claire Wade and I pretty much read it in one sitting. It’s a really gripping, thought-provoking novel. I’ll be reviewing it this week so look out for that!

 

 

 

As for blogging I always love the first week of a new year when I share all my favourite books of the past year and reflect on my reading.

 

 

First I posted my Christmas Book Haul as I was very spoilt with books over the festive period.

Then I shared my Reading Bingo post. I always enjoy putting this post together every year as it’s a chance to reflect on my reading and to share some of the books I’ve read.

Up next was the start of my Favourite Novels of 2019 countdown (I had to split it into two) with the first half of my Top 40 books!

I followed that with my final Top 20 Novels of 2019.

After that I shared my Top 20 NonFiction books that I read in 2019.

On Friday I posted my 2019 Reading Stats post. I love putting this post together and getting the chance to really look at the breakdown of my reading over the year. It’s always so interesting to me to see how my bookish year went.

Yesterday I shared a book haul of the books that I’ve managed to acquire since the beginning of the year!

 

So health-wise it could have been a better week but I’m thrilled with the books I’ve read and the posts I’ve written and shared on my blog so all-in-all I’m happy with how 2020 is going so far! 🙂 How has your week been?

 

My Weekly Wrap-Up (4 Feb)!

Posted on by

Weekly Wrap up SQUARE copyrighted

 

This week started off okay but has been a bit rubbish latterly. It’s affected my reading and so far I haven’t read a single thing in February – not even a chapter of a book let alone an entire book. I did finish a couple of books before January ended so have read those this week but it’s not been a good week. I’m hoping my concentration returns very soon so that I can get back to my reading.

My MacBook has had another wobble, which has made blogging quite difficult. I’m so glad that I do prepare some posts in advance so that I can edit them on my phone but it makes it hard to keep up with reading blogs and commenting. We think the issue with my MacBook is something to do with a recent software update so it’s trial and error at the moment trying to find a workaround until a patch is released.

 

This week I’ve finished reading two books:

Spaceman by Mike Massimino

This book was a surprise birthday present from my husband and I adored it. It grabbed me from the first page and I didn’t put this book down from that moment on until I finished it. It’s such an interesting insight into astronaut training at NASA and I think it may well be a book that I re-read at some point.

Winter by Ali Smith

This took me a while to read because my copy was very tightly bound, making it hard for me to hold, but it was actually nice in a way to be forced to read slowly and to savour it because it’s a brilliant novel. I love Ali Smith’s writing and I think this might be my new favourite by her!

 

This week I’ve blogged four times:

My Weekly Wrap-Up Post

My WWW Wednesday Post

My January Wrap-Up Post

My Birthday Book Haul

 

This is what I’m currently reading:

A is for Alibi by Sue Grafton

I’ve been intending to start re-reading this series for a little while now but learning of the death of Sue Grafton in December really made me think I needed to make an effort to pick the books up again. I do love Kinsey Millhone, she’s a great character and I’m really enjoying being back in her world.

The Note by Zoe Folbigg

I read the first couple of chapters of this book before I hit my slump and was enjoying it so I’m looking forward to getting back into it.

The Innocent Wife by Amy Lloyd

This book is really good and I’m so intrigued about where it’s going to go so I’m very keen to pick this back up. I don’t want my mood to affect my reading enjoyment though so I’ve been waiting until my head was in the right place again.

Spark Joy by Marie Kondo

I’ve not read anymore of this since last week but I hope to get back to this one very soon as non-fiction is often the thing that gets me back reading after a slump.

 

 

How has your week been? What have you been reading? Please share in the comments below. If you write a wrap-up on your blog please feel free to share the link. 🙂

 

 

 

My Weekly Wrap-Up (21 Jan)!

Posted on by

Weekly Wrap up SQUARE copyrighted

 

This coming week is a tough one for me… it’s the anniversary of my mum’s death and also my birthday. I’ve struggled with this week ever since my mum died, as the two dates became so linked together in the year she died that I’ve never quite been able to separate them ever since.  I always feel melancholy until my birthday is over and then the mood lifts again. It’s hard to distract myself when feeling like this but I always do my best to escape into books.

In better news, I had a really helpful first appointment at the hospital with a new consultant. It was refreshing to be listened to and taken seriously, now it’s just the long wait for the results.

Annoyingly, a couple of days ago I opened my MacBook to write some reviews and it was not working at all. My husband has got it working again now but neither of us trust it to keep working as it’s still behaving oddly. Urgh! I can only blog on my MacBook as my dictation software doesn’t work with anything else so if I end up not being around so much in the near future it’s because it’s bit the dust. Hopefully it will keep working for the foreseeable though.

 

 

This week I’ve finished reading four books:

This is Going to Hurt by Adam Kay

This is Going to Hurt by Adam Kay

This book was one of my Christmas presents and I’ve been so keen to read it. I picked it up the other day and it was brilliant, even better than I expected. There is a real mix of humour and heartbreak, and it felt like it really represented what it must be like to work as a junior doctor in the NHS. I highly recommend this book.

In the Days of Rain by Rebecca Stott

I’ve had this book on my audio book TBR for a while and somehow hadn’t listened to it. I then saw a few reviews of it after it won the biography category in the Costa Book Awards so immediately started listening. This is such an open and honest memoir, it’s a book that I feel will stay with me.

Anatomy of a Scandal by Sarah Vaughan

This is a review book that I’ve had for a little while now but I finally got to read it this week and I loved it. It had me hooked from start to finish and it feels like a book that will really stay with me. I’m struggling to write my review because I loved the book so much. Hopefully I’ll manage to get my words together very soon though.

Out of Orange by Cleary Wolters

This was my other audio book from this week and I enjoyed it. I wasn’t sure of it to start with but once I got into it I found it interesting. I recommend it for fans of Orange is the New Black.

 

This week I’ve blogged three times:

Sunday: Weekly Wrap-Up

Wednesday: WWW Wednesday post

Saturday: Stacking the Shelves with my latest book haul

 

This is what I’m currently reading:

Three Things about Elsie by Joanna Cannon

I started reading this book last night and I’ve already had a little cry over it. It’s just so believable and so beautifully written; it feels like this might become a new favourite book. I will be reviewing this once I’ve read it but I can already recommend it.

This is How it Ends by Eva Dolan

This book is so good. I love the way it’s told in a non-linear way and so the story is slowly unfolding, it’s got me engrossed and it’s a book I really look forward to picked it up and reading a bit more.

Spark Joy by Marie Kondo

I haven’t read much more of this book this week as I just haven’t been in the mood for it. I hope to get back to it in the coming week though as I am enjoying it.

Winter by Ali Smith

I’m still very much enjoying this book but I’m struggling to read it because my copy is really tightly bound so it’s impossible for me to hold when I’m not doing so well. I will get properly back to this as soon as the strength in my hands improves again.

Rest in Power by Sybrina Fulton and Tracy Martin

I’ve read a couple more chapters of this book this week and I’m finding it such a heartbreaking read. I may put this to one side for the next week and pick it back up once I’m feeling on more of an even keel.

 

the-state-of-my-2

The State of the TBR:

Well, I’m really happy to report that three weeks into 2018 my TBR is holding steady at 2753 owned books, which is the same as it was last week! I have looked at books but have resisted buying any. I did get a couple of books from NetGalley but because of the books I’ve read this week my TBR has remained at the same number! I really want to reduce my TBR over this year but to not be increasing it is still something of an achievement for me! You can see my latest book haul here.

 

 

 

How has your week been? What have you been reading? Please share in the comments below. If you write a wrap-up on your blog please feel free to share the link. 🙂

My Weekly Wrap-Up (14 Jan)!

Posted on by

Weekly Wrap up SQUARE copyrighted

 

This week I am finally starting to feel human again after a horrible flu virus that floored me for a couple of weeks. Now my headache has gone I’ve been able to catch up on some blogging and to get some reading done. It’s nice to be back blogging again and I hope to have regular reviews and other posts up from now on as it’s been a while since I was in a routine with it.

 

This week I’ve finished reading four books:

Friend Request by Laura Marshall

I read this book in just two sittings because I didn’t want to put it down. It grabbed me from the opening chapter and kept me hooked all the way through. I’ll hopefully have my review up on my blog this week.

An Act of Silence by Colette McBeth

This is such a powerful novel and one I definitely recommend. I’ve already reviewed this so if you’d like to know more of my thoughts on it please click on the title above.

South and West by Joan Didion

I read Blue Nights towards the end of last year so I was keen to read this new book by Joan Didion. It was a really interesting book and I’m glad I read it.

Emma in the Night by Wendy Walker

I’ve had this on my review TBR for quite a while now but I finally picked it up in the week and I really enjoyed it. I’m hoping to get my review finished and posted this week so please look out for that.

 

This week I’ve blogged seven times:

My Favourite Novels Read in 2017

My Favourite Non-Fiction Read in 2017

2017 Reading Reflections, Bookish Plans for 2018 & The State of my TBR!

WWW Wednesdays

Reading Bingo Results from 2017

Review of An Act of Silence by Colette McBeth

Stacking the Shelves with my Christmas Book Haul!

 

This is what I’m currently reading:

Anatomy of a Scandal by Sarah Vaughan

This book is so good! I started reading it yesterday morning and had to force myself to put it down otherwise nothing would have got done. I then waited until I could sit down for the evening so I could just read and read.

Winter by Ali Smith

This is such a brilliant novel. I want to devour it but I’m reading slowly so that I can take in everything. I loved Autumn but I think Winter is possibly even better!

Out of Orange by Cleary Wolters

I started this listening book the other day and wasn’t initially sure that it was for me but I’ve actually been hooked listening to it over the last couple of days. It’s an interesting book and one that fans of Orange is the New Black will likely enjoy.

Spark Joy by Marie Kondo

I do love a book about de-cluttering and this is my latest pick. I’m enjoying this because it re-affirms what was in Kondo’s previous book and is motivating me all over again.

Rest in Power: The Enduring Life of Trayvon Martin by Sybrina Fulton and Tracy Martin

I haven’t read much more of this book this week but it’s definitely properly back in my currently reading pile and I will be reading more of it in the coming days.

 

the-state-of-my-2

 

The State of the TBR:

So as I posted in my Reading Reflections post this week I’m going to try really hard to work on reducing my TBR this year. At the start of 2018 my owned books TBR totalled 2756 books. As of writing this post it’s 2753 so it’s going in the right direction so far! It’s hard to resist buying new books but I’m trying to keep in mind that I should wait to buy a book until I’m ready to read it. We’ll see how it goes!

 

 

How has your week been? What have you been reading? Please share in the comments below. If you write a wrap-up on your blog please feel free to share the link. 🙂

Weekly Wrap-Up (19 Nov)!

Posted on by

Weekly Wrap up SQUARE copyrighted

 

I want to start this post by saying a huge thank you to everyone who visits my blog, and especially to this who have commented recently. I’m aware that I’m slow to respond at the moment, and also that I’m not managing to comment on as many of your blogs as I’d like to, but I will get there. Please know that even when it takes me a while I respond, I do very much appreciate every comment.

This week has been quite quiet as I’ve not been feeling great. I have got a lot of reading done though, which has been lovely. I’ve been seeking escapism in books as I have another round of medical appointments and tests coming up and I don’t want to think about those until I have to.

Last night my husband and I curled up and watched The Deer Hunter, which we haven’t seen in a few years. It was so nice to just relax and watch a film together but it doesn’t matter how many times you see this film, it’s never not heartbreaking.

 

This week I’ve finished reading seven books:

Flash Boys: A Wall Street Revolt by Michael Lewis

This is a book that I was going to put on my #NonFictionNovember2017 TBR and then forgot about! I spotted it this week and was just in the mood to read it so decided to go ahead anyway. I read it in two sittings and found it such a fascinating insight into what goes on in Wall Street.

The Year of Living Danishly by Helen Russell

I really enjoyed reading this book! I read it a chapter or two at a time throughout the week in between other books and it really worked for me like that. If I’m to be completely honest I did find the author a bit irritating and she didn’t seem to have much of a concept of how lucky she was but, having said that, I loved reading about the lifestyle in Denmark and it has made me want to move there! I’d still recommend the book too.

Whatever… Love is Love by Maria Bello

This is another non-fiction book that wasn’t on my TBR for this month but it caught my eye amongst my audio books. It was an interesting listen, and some parts were thought-provoking but I don’t think it’s a book that will really stick with me.

Saving Sophie by Sam Carrington

This is a novel that I read this week as I was in need of some escapism and non-fiction wasn’t giving me that so instead I picked up this book, which I owned before this year so it’s another one that counts towards my Mount TBR challenge on Goodreads. I enjoyed this thriller, it kept me interested all the way through and I’ll definitely pick up Sam’s next book, Bad Sister.

Thinking Out Loud: Love, Grief and Being Mum and Dad by Rio Ferdinand (with Decca Aitkenhead)

This is such a powerful book about Rio’s grief after the death of his wife. I found it to be a really honest and moving book. I’ve already reviewed this so you can read more of my thoughts on it here if you’d like to.

A Single Breath by Lucy Clarke

This was the other novel that I read this week when needing some escapism. I really enjoyed this book – I do love Lucy Clarke’s writing.

Dear Ijeawele, or a Feminist Manifesto in Fifteen Suggestions by Chimamanda Ngozi Adichie

This is a very short book that I’ve been meaning to read for ages and I’m glad I finally got to it. It’s one of those books that makes you think about your own thoughts and ideas about things.

 

This week I’ve blogged three times:

Sunday: Weekly Wrap-Up post

Wednesday: WWW Wednesday post

Thursday: Review of Thinking Out Loud by Rio Ferdinand (with Decca Aitkenhead)

 

This is what I’m currently reading:

Brain on Fire by Susannah Cahalan

I just started this book yesterday but it’s already got me engrossed. I don’t think it’ll take me very long to read this. I’m expecting it to be quite harrowing at times but I’ve seen so many people recommend it that I have to read it.

Dear Cathy… Love, Mary by Catherine Conlon and Mary Phelan

This is letters between Catherine and Mary in 1984 – the year they leave school and one goes on to further study and the other goes to France to be an au pair. I’m so enjoying this one, it’s wonderful.

Coco Chanel: The Legend and the Life by Justine Picardie

This is a really interesting look at Coco Chanel’s life and I’m really enjoying it. My copy of the book is physically very heavy so I’ll be quite slow to read this but it’s such a treat every time I pick it up.

The Everything Store by Brad Stone

I haven’t read much more of this over the last week but I will be getting back to it soon as I was finding it really interesting.

 

How has your week been? What have you been reading? Please share in the comments below. If you write a wrap-up on your blog please feel free to share the link. 🙂

Weekly Wrap-Up (12 Nov)

Posted on by

Weekly Wrap up SQUARE copyrighted

This week has been one of those weeks that has disappeared and I’m not sure where it went. My husband had a week off, which was nice. I also had a Grey’s Anatomy marathon starting last weekend as I saw an ad for season 14 and realised that I hadn’t seen Season 13 (it’s because we had a year away from Sky)! So as the episodes were only going to be available until Tuesday I had to get them seen. I’m caught up now but have series linked the new series as my brain needs a small TV break before I watch the new episodes! All the TV watching has eaten into my reading time but I have still managed to finish some books this week.

 

This week I’ve finished reading three books:

Good Night and Good Riddance: How Thirty-Five Years of John Peel Helped to Shape Modern Life by David Cavanagh

I’ve been dipping in and out of this book for a few weeks now but this week I got so engrossed in it that I finished the last third of the book in one sitting. I really enjoyed this book, but it was sad to get to the end and be reminded all over again that John Peel is gone.

The Emperor of all Maladies by Siddharta Mukherjee

I read the whole of this book this week and it was brilliant. It’s quite a long book, and it does have a lot of detail and yet it doesn’t feel heavy-going. I found it utterly fascinating and am now planning to read the author’s book on genes in the coming months.

It’s Not Yet Dark by Simon Fitzmaurice

I’ve had this book on my TBR for a while and hadn’t picked it up because there was a brief time when MND was considered as a possible cause of my symptoms, and just the thought of it was terrifying. This book is incredible and is one that will really stay with me. It’s both sad and uplifting, and it’s always inspiring – I recommend it.

 

This week I’ve blogged three times:

 

Sunday: Weekly Wrap-Up Post

Wednesday: WWW Wednesday Post

Thursday: Review of Aches and Gains: A Comprehensive Guide to Overcoming your Pain by Paul J. Christo

 

This is what I’m currently reading:

The Year of Living Danishly by Helen Russell

I’ve had this on my TBR for ages and finally started reading it last night and I’m loving it. I’ve been reading bits out to my husband and now we both want to move to Denmark (and I’m only on chapter two!). I’m enjoying how this is a personal exploration of Jutland but includes info and stats about Denmark as a whole that really add to the reading experience.

A Single Breath by Lucy Clarke

I did say that I was only going to read non-fiction this month but Friday was a bit of a day so I needed escapism and my non-fiction picks weren’t cutting it. I’m enjoying this book, it’s been a good book to get lost in.

The Everything Store by Jeff Bezos

I have only read a couple more chapters of this book this week as I focused on the other books I was reading but I am still finding this really interesting and so will get back to it properly this coming week.

 

 

How has your week been? What have you been reading? Please share in the comments below. If you write a wrap-up on your blog please feel free to share the link. 🙂

Weekly Wrap-Up (5 Nov)

Posted on by

Weekly Wrap up SQUARE copyrighted

This week I decided to take part in non-fiction November so I spent a while sorting through my print and kindle books to make a TBR for that. I read a fair bit of non-fiction anyway but I’m enjoying challenging myself to spend a whole month devoted to it. I haven’t felt too well this week but have been able to escape into books so I’ve been very glad of that.

 

This week I’ve finished reading five books:

This House of Grief by Helen Garner

I started this book about three weeks ago but I had to put it down because it felt a bit too overwhelming for me to read in one go. I picked it back up yesterday and found I then couldn’t put it down, I had to get to the end to see what happened. I think this book will stay with me for a long time to come and may well make it onto my favourite non-fiction books.

A History of Britain in 21 Women by Jenni Murray

This was one of my picks for non-fiction November and it was a great start to the challenge. I flew through this book – it was interesting to see which women Jenni Murray picked to write about and also to find out why. I’d recommend this one.

Little Beach Street Bakery by Jenny Colgan

In typical bookaholic fashion I recently treated myself to a Jenny Colgan Christmas book, which I’m looking forward to reading next month, and it was only when I got home that I realised it was the third book in a trilogy. I also only then realised that I owned the first two books on my kindle so I’m going to try and get them read before December so that I can read the Christmas book. I loved the first book, it was such a gorgeous read and I adored it!

Lie With Me by Sabine Durrant

This has been on my review pile for way longer than it should have, and after reading it I regret leaving it so long because it was a really good read. I think I read it in two sittings and it just had me hooked from the start. Hopefully I’ll get my review for this written and posted soon.

All the Good Things by Clare Fisher

This book was such an emotional read. It’s one of those books that slowly gets under your skin until you just can’t put it down. I’ll be reviewing it on my blog as soon as I get my thoughts together about it but it is a book I definitely recommend.

This week I’ve blogged five times:

Sunday: Weekly Wrap-Up post

Sunday: Review of Snare by Lilja Sigurdardottir

Monday: Guest post by author Mimi Thebo on how her accident, subsequent PTSD and eventual recover as a teenager inspired to her write her novel Hospital High

Wednesday: WWW Wednesday post

Thursday: My (rather large) TBR for Non-Fiction November 2017

 

This is what I’m currently reading:

The Everything Store: Jeff Bezos and the Age of Amazon by Brad Stone

This is a book I’ve owned for a while as I’m intrigued to know more about Amazon and how it came to be what it is now. I’ve only read the first couple of chapters so far but it’s interesting.

The Emperor of All Maladies by Siddhartha Mukherjee

I’ve had this book on my TBR mountain for ages but whilst it is something I want to read, there is part of me that felt it could be an upsetting read. I’m so glad I picked it up in the last couple of days though as it’s utterly fascinating! It’s much more accessible that I was expecting it to be and it’s a book that once I got into, I haven’t wanted to put it down.

Good Night and Good Riddance: How Thirty-Five Years of John Peel Helped to Shape Modern Life by David Cavanagh

I’m still enjoying dipping into this book and am loving all the stories – there are many things I didn’t know about John Peel and his earlier radio shows to it’s a really fun and interesting read.

 

How has your week been? What have you been reading? Please share in the comments below. If you write a wrap-up on your blog please feel free to share the link. 🙂

Weekly Wrap-Up (29 Oct)

Posted on by

Weekly Wrap up SQUARE copyrighted

This week I got a notification from Goodreads letting me know that I’d completed my reading goal for the year. I was really surprised that I’ve achieved my goal already as my reading has been hit and miss this year but it’s great to have done it. I’m not going to increase my goal but I will still be reading lots of books as the year continues! I want to try and read from my existing TBR as much as I can from now on to try and decrease that as much as possible before the start of 2018!

screenshot73

I also spotted that I’d passed 6000 followers on twitter, which was a lovely thing to discover. Thanks to everyone who follows me on there too. 🙂

 

This week I’ve finished reading five books:

Aches and Gains by Paul L. Christo

This was such a useful book and is one I recommend to anyone living with chronic pain. I’ll be reviewing this very soon.

Kindness by Jamie Thurston

This is a book that is gorgeous to look at and is really well produced. It would make a lovely gift and does give ideas and reminders about how we would all benefit if we all showed a bit more kindness.

Snare by Lilja Sigurdardottir

I loved this book – it was a one-sitting read as I just couldn’t put it down. I’ve got a review of this on my blog today so you can read that here if you’d like to.

One Hundred Names by Cecelia Ahern

I’m such a big fan of Cecelia Ahern – I find her books are such wonderful comforting reads and I know I can trust her to always leave me feeling happier. This book wasn’t my favourite of hers but I still really enjoyed reading it. I loved the mystery behind the one hundred names and the reveal about them when it came.

Agatha Raisin and the Day the Floods Came by M. C. Beaton

It’s been absolutely ages since I last read an Agatha Raisin book (despite me having the next ten or so in the series on my TBR!) but it was such a treat to finally pick one up. I enjoyed this book so much and am now keen to keep on with these books. Agatha Raisin is such a great character!

 

This week I’ve blogged four times:

Sunday: Weekly Wrap-up Post

Wednesday: WWW Wednesday Post

Thursday: Review of Sofa, So Good – Me Life Story by Scarlett Moffatt

Friday: Review of How to be Champion by Sarah Millican

 

This is what I’m currently reading:

Lie With Me by Sabine Durrant

I’m ashamed to say that I’ve had an ARC of this on my TBR for way longer than I should have but I finally picked it up this week and it’s such a good read. It’s a book that’s hard to put down because it’s really got me wanting to know what’s going on between the characters and how it’s all going to end.

All the Good Things by Clare Fisher

I’m still really enjoying this book, I wish I’d picked it up sooner now but better late than never!

This House of Grief by Helen Garner

I’ve picked this book back up this week and am finding it so interesting.

Good Night and Good Riddance: How Thirty-Five Years of John Peel Helped to Shape Modern Life by David Cavanagh

I’ve read a bit more of this book this week and am still really loving it. I’m still reading about radio shows that were before my time but it’s wonderful to be reminded of the way John Peel championed artists on his show.

 

 

How has your week been? What have you been reading? Please share in the comments below. If you write a wrap-up on your blog please feel free to share the link. 🙂

Weekly Wrap-Up! (22 Oct)

Posted on by

Weekly Wrap up SQUARE copyrighted

This week has been okay. I’ve been unwell for a few days so had to rest up and I got a lot of reading done. I managed to finish a couple of books that I’ve been reading for a little while so that was nice.

Yesterday was really upsetting when I found out that because someone has reported me to Facebook for not using my surname on there. Facebook are holding me to ransom saying that unless I give them two documents with my real name on (which they’d then use on my account) they’ll delete not only my account but also my Facebook page. I have good reason for not using my surname online so refuse to give it to Facebook. This means I’ll no longer be able to have a presence on Facebook unless I can find a way around this. Being housebound social media is really important to me so I’m really sad that someone has caused this to happen to me. My husband is looking into if we can appeal to Facebook but unless I can figure something out then I’ll no longer be on there once they delete my account and page. So if you follow me on there and see my page disappear this is why.

Anyway, on to the books…

 

This week I’ve finished reading seven books:

Where Love Begins by Judith Hermann

I have to admit that whilst this is a short novel I did struggle with it a bit. It’s one of those books that I really enjoyed when I was reading it but when I put it down I just wasn’t drawn to pick it back up. Yesterday evening I made the time to just read it through to the end and it was more enjoyable that way but it still left me feeling a bit indifferent to it. The idea for the novel was great so it may just be a case of right book wrong time for me.

Sofa So Good: Me Life Story by Scarlett Moffatt

I was sent a copy of this for review and it was the perfect read for me this week. I read it in one sitting and I enjoyed it so much. I’ll be reviewing this one very soon!

In A Cottage in a Wood by Cass Green

This is a book I got from NetGalley recently so picked it up this week and I devoured it. I was expecting it to be a bit more unnerving than it was but it had me hooked all the way through and it was good escapism.

Trust Me by Zosia Wand

I very much enjoyed this book, it’s another one that I read in one sitting as I just didn’t want to put it down. It made for a late night but it was worth it! I’ve already reviewed this one so you can read more of what I thought here if you’d like to.

All the Wicked Girls by Chris Whitaker

I’m ashamed to say that I was sent a copy of this book for review quite a while ago not but I just haven’t been able to manage holding a physical book over the summer so it’s had to wait. It was worth the wait though because this was such a brilliant read. I’m still trying to get my thoughts together but I will review it soon – in the meantime I definitely recommend it!

Titanic Love Stories by Gill Paul

I’ve had this on my TBR for ages so as I’m trying to mix reading review books with reading books that I’ve owned since before the start of the year I decided to pick this one up. It was an enjoyable and moving read but I just wish it had had a bit more depth. It’s worth picking up if you’re interested in books about the Titanic though.

Anything You Do Say by Gillian McAllister

This book is so good! I love Sliding Doors type books anyway but this one is done so well and I’m still thinking about it now. I hope to get my review written and posted soon but I can say now that I highly recommend this book!

 

This week I’ve blogged four times:

Sunday: Life Update and Weekly Wrap-Up

Wednesday: WWW Wednesday post

Thursday: Extract from Bad Sister by Sam Carrington for the blog tour

Friday: Review of Trust Me by Zosia Wand for the blog tour

 

This is what I’m currently reading:

Agatha Raisin and the Day the Floods Came by M.C. Beaton

I haven’t read an Agatha Raisin book for ages but I picked this one off my TBR last night as it seemed it would be perfect escapism when I was feeling so down last night. It was the right choice because I’m loving this book.

All the Good Things by Clare Fisher

I’ve had an ARC of this on my kindle for a few months now so decided it was time to pick it up. I’m really enjoying this – it’s hooked me in very quickly and I’m keen to get back to it to see where this novel is going.

This House of Grief by Helen Garner

I’ve only read a couple more chapters of this since last week as I just wasn’t in the right mood to read it but I do want to get back to it soon.

Good Night and Good Riddance: How Thirty-Five Years of John Peel Helped to Shape Modern Life by David Cavanagh

I’m still dipping in and out of this book and I love it. There are some wonderful stories from John Peel’s radio shows and I feel like I can almost hear his voice as I’m reading.

Aches and Gains: A Comprehensive Guide to Overcoming Your Pain by Paul L. Christo

I’m also still reading this book on and off – it’s not a book I can read straight through as I want to take in what he’s saying. This is a great book for anyone who suffers from chronic pain, or cares for someone who does.

 

How has your week been? What have you been reading? Please share in the comments below. If you write a wrap-up on your blog please feel free to share the link. 🙂

Life Update and a Weekly Wrap-Up!

Posted on by

Weekly Wrap up SQUARE copyrighted

It has been ages since I was blogging regularly and I can’t even remember the last time I posted a proper update. I have honoured my commitments to blog tours so they are the only things I’ve posted since early in the summer. I do want to say a huge thank you to everyone who has continued to read my blog, and to comment even when I’ve not been around, it really does mean a lot to me.

So some of you will know that a year ago I took the decision to start reducing my pain meds. I’d been on incredibly strong meds since before my diagnosis but my pain levels have remained high despite the meds. So I did a lot of research and the general consensus in the medical profession seemed to be that painkillers don’t really work for people with chronic pain like mine. I discussed things with my doctor and I started a reduction plan. It has been a rough year as every time I reduced I had a period of feeling very unwell with pain throughout my body but it would eventually settle again. A few weeks ago I finally got completely off my long-acting pain medication, which was a big achievement. I was still taking the short-acting morphine though so that was the next thing to tackle. I was meant to wean myself off it but I decided to go cold turkey. It was hell. It was worse than I was expecting, and I’d planned for it to be awful! My husband is a huge support to me and he got me through it. I’m now almost six weeks down the line and while I still don’t feel great, I do feel like my body is very gradually beginning to adjust. I am on a lower level pain medication now but I’m continuing to utilise all the things I’ve learnt in the last two years and hope that in time I can reduce these meds too. I will be in pain for the rest of my life because it’s just the nature of the damage done in my neck and spine but I really want to see if I can find a way to live with the pain rather than taking loads of painkillers.

As you can probably imagine, for a lot of the summer and into autumn my reading has tapered off quite a lot. I haven’t been able to concentrate very well, plus I’ve had a lot of headaches etc. This past week I treated myself to a book I’ve been so keen to read and I devoured it, and that made me happier than I can even put into words. My reading mojo feels like it’s on its way back as I’ve read quite a few books this week so I’m really hoping that this trend continues!

Now I’m reading closer to my normal level again I’ve felt like I want to get back to blogging but it’s been such a long, and unplanned for, break that I haven’t felt like I could just start. So I’m writing this weekly wrap-up and life update as a way of letting you all know what’s been happening with me and a way of just feeling my way back into the blogging world!

 

 

So without further ado, here are the books I’ve finished reading this week:

Lily Alone by Vivien Brown

I got a review copy of this from NetGalley but also discovered the audio version on my subscription service so I part read and part listened to this. This book wasn’t exactly what I was expecting it to be but I flew through it because it had me engrossed from the very first chapter. I will write a full review of this on my blog soon.

Queer: A Graphic History by Meg-John Barker

I’m sorry to say that I didn’t really get on with this book, which is a shame because I was really keen to read it. I think the cover makes it seem like this is more of a graphic novel than it is, and also it doesn’t make it clear that this is a brief overview of queer theory. I’ve already studied queer theory as part of my degree so there was nothing new for me in here, but I’m not sure I’d even recommend it to someone who wanted to know more as it all felt very dry and it skimmed over lots of things and gave very little detail in my opinion.

Good as You: From Prejudice to Pride – 30 Years of Gay Britain by Paul Flynn

This is a book that I’ve wanted ever since I first heard it of it earlier this year and I finally treated myself to the lovely hardback this week. I’m so happy to say that this book is brilliant, I loved every minute that I spent reading this. This is a great non-fiction book because it’s informative but written in such an easy-to-read style. This is the book that I flew through over a couple of days… I highly recommend this one!

I Heart Forever by Lindsey Kelk

I love the I Heart… books so when I saw a new one was coming out I was super excited to read it. I picked this up at a perfect time when I just needed a light-hearted read and I found I just couldn’t put it down. I read an ARC so I will be reviewing this one on my blog soon.

Blue Nights by Joan Didion

I’ve wanted to read this book for ages and it caught my eye on my bookshelf this week. I read it two sittings and found it to be such an open and honest exploration of her love for her daughter and grief at her loss. This is one of those books that I will re-read, and it’s certainly one that will stay with me.

 

 

This is what I’m currently reading:

Anything You Do Say by Gillian McAllister

This book is so good! I love the way it’s a take on the sliding doors idea and takes the reader through two alternate realities of happened next in the aftermath of a terrible incident after a night out. I’ve been racing through this book because I just don’t want to put it down, and I’m so keen to find out how it will all turn out in the end.

Trust Me by Zosia Wand

I was thrilled to be sent a copy of this novel to review as it’s one I was aware of and was looking forward to reading. I’m really enjoying it so far and can’t wait to read more.

Where Love Begins by Judith Hermann

This is one of those books that I don’t really know what to say about it. When I’m reading it it has me engaged and wanting to know more but when I put it down the plot drifts away from me. I am enjoying it though and am keen to see where it’s going.

Good Night and Good Riddance: How Thirty-Five Years of John Peel Helped to Shape Modern Life by David Cavanagh

I’ve had this on my TBR for a little while now but I was keen to pick it up after listening to some of the highlights of John Peel’s radio shows during Radio 1’s recent 50th birthday weekend. I loved listening to John Peel over the years and still miss discovering new music via his recommendations. This book is a look at some of his shows and his relationship to the music and the artists. It’s easy to dip in and out of, but it’s also easy to lose and hour or two of time as you read and reminisce. I definitely recommend this one!

Aches and Gains: A Comprehensive Guide to Overcoming Your Pain by Paul L. Christo

This is a non-fiction book about the different types of pain, and various conditions that cause pain; plus a look at the range of treatment options available. I’m finding it interesting, in particular where it relates to my own conditions. I’m reading an ARC so I will be reviewing this once I’ve finished reading it.

 

 

As you may remember I decided to track my TBR on my blog this year and have been showing the sums of how my TBR has increased or decreased over the course of this year. I’ve recently got rid of a stack of books and am in the process of sorting through my kindle books so my TBR numbers are a bit all over the place just now and I’ve lost track of it a bit. I do want to continue with following the state of my TBR but I’ve decided to put this to one side for the rest of this year and will start it again in 2018.

 

How has your week (or even the last few months) been for you? Have you read any good books recently? I’d love to catch up so please feel free to leave a link to your latest wrap-up in the comments below.

 

Weekly Wrap-Up! (23 Jul)

Posted on by

Weekly Wrap up SQUARE copyrighted

This week has been lovely as my husband has been on holiday from work. I’m not able to be out and about very much but it’s been nice to spend time together. He finally persuaded me to start watching Stranger Things, and I’m so annoyed that I put it off for so long before I’m absolutely loving it.

It’s been a strange last couple of days. I always find it hard to know that people I love are going through grief and sadness when I can’t do anything to really help.

 

This week I’ve finished reading four books:

Letters to Sarah by Sara Payne

This was a really emotional read but also an interesting one. Sara Payne is a remarkable woman in how she’s channeled her pain into trying to keep other children safe. I was also really inspired by how she’s worked to recover as much as she can after her stroke.

Three Days and a Life by Pierre LeMaitre

This book was brilliant! I literally couldn’t put it down and read it in one sitting. I’m a big fan of Pierre LeMaitre and this book absolutely lived up to all my expectations. I’ll be reviewing this as soon as I can but I highly recommend it.

After I’ve Gone by Linda Green

I was really intrigued by the premise for this book and the way social media was used to show someone their future. There was more to this book than I was expecting and I was really gripped by it. I read a review copy so I will be trying to get my review for this posted soon.

The Other Twin by Lucy V. Hay

This book grabbed me from the opening chapter and had me so intrigued that I just couldn’t put it down. I’ve already reviewed this one so you can read my thoughts on it here if you’d like to.

 

This week I’ve blogged four times:

Sunday: Weekly Wrap-Up post

Tuesday: Review of Not a Sound by Heather Gudenkauf

Wednesday: WWW Wednesday post

Thursday: Review of The Other Twin by Lucy V. Hay

 

This is what I’m currently reading:

Her Deadly Secret by Chris Curran

This is one of those books that really grabs you from the start and makes you wish you’d started it at a time when you could just read all afternoon and finish it in one sitting.

The Fact of a Body by Alexandria Marzano-Lesnivich

I’d been really keen to read this book before I started it and yet somehow I didn’t know much about it. I’m completely gripped by it – it’s non-fiction but assumptions are made about certain situations in order to fill in blanks so it’s not completely non-fiction. It’s one of those books that really makes you think about things and I’m looking forward to reading more of it.

Do Not Become Alarmed by Maile Meloy

I have to be honest and say that I’ve not been drawn to read any more of this novel this week. I’m going to keep it on my currently reading pile for another week and then if it still hasn’t called to me I may just DNF it. I don’t know if the problem is just me as the premise really grabbed me initially.

The Devil in the White City by Erik Larson

I’ve read another few chapters of this and am finding it fascinating. It’s non-fiction but it’s written in a way that really flows so I’d recommend this to anyone, even if you don’t normally read non-fiction.

the-state-of-my-2

Update on my TBR: 

 

As you may have noticed I didn’t post a Stacking the Shelves post yesterday and the reason for that is I didn’t buy or receive any new books by the time I normally write and schedule my post! I’m sure you’re all as shocked as I am!!

 

TBR at the start of January 2017: 1885 (see my State of the TBR post)

TBR in last week’s Wrap-Up: 1999

Additions:

Books bought/received for review/gifts: 0

Subtractions:

Books read this week: 4

TBR Books culled this week: 0

Total:

TBR now stands at: 1996

 

 

How’s your week been? I hope it’s been a good week, I’d love to hear what you’ve been up to and what you’ve been reading over the last seven days. If you do a wrap-up post please feel free to share a link below.

Weekly Wrap-Up! (16 Jul)

Posted on by

Weekly Wrap up SQUARE copyrighted

This week has been a tiring week but a good one. My husband has been on holiday from work so we’ve been out a couple of times for short periods. It’s physically difficult for me to go out – the getting ready plus my brain and spine don’t cope well with being in a car – but it’s so wonderful mentally to be out.

This week also brought good news on the health-front as I finally had my assessment for a new leg brace. I’ve now had a plaster cast made for a new custom brace, which should hopefully be ready next month. The new brace will have cut-outs in the side so that it will be less cumbersome, which will be great. The person I saw really listened to what I said and seems keen to try and make things easier for me where possible. My current leg brace is so big in the foot that I have to buy mens shoes that are 2-3 sizes too big for me! The new orthotics team have said they’ll fit my brace more closely to my foot so I’ll only need to get shoes just one size too big this time so even that made me happy. 🙂

I haven’t done so much reading this week as I’ve been really tired and not able to concentrate much with having had a busy week but I have enjoyed the small amount of reading that I’ve done.

 

This week I’ve finished reading two books:

Baby Lost by Hannah Robert

It’s taken me a little while to read this book because I was drawn to fiction last month but I’m so glad that I came back to this and finished. I got this for review so will be sharing my thoughts on it as soon as I get them in order.

Not A Sound by Heather Gudenkauf

I really enjoyed this thriller so am very pleased to be on the blog tour for it this week! I’ll be sharing my review on the 18th July so please look out for that then.

 

This week I’ve blogged four times:

Sunday: Weekly Wrap-Up post

Tuesday: Review of Last Seen by Lucy Clarke along with a guest post on beach hunting by Lucy

Wednesday: WWW Wednesday post

Saturday: Stacking the Shelves post

 

This is what I’m currently reading:

Letters to Sarah by Sara Payne

This book showed up on the recommendations page on Amazon last night and I decided to buy the ebook. I’ve not even put this in a book haul yet but I’ve already started reading it. It’s a very moving read but such an open and honest book too.

After I’ve Gone by Linda Green

I’m really enjoying this book, it seems a bit different to other thrillers that I’ve read recently and I’m so keen to find out how it will end.

Do Not Become Alarmed by Maile Meloy

This book isn’t what I thought it was going to be but I’m definitely invested in it enough to keep reading as I want to know how things are going to turn out.

The Devil in the White City by Erik Larson

I’m reading this in between my other books at the moment as it feels quite heavy for my brain just now but I am definitely hooked and will be reading this as often as I feel I can.

 

the-state-of-my-2

Update on my TBR:

TBR at the start of January 2017: 1885 (see my State of the TBR post)

TBR in last week’s Wrap-Up: 1991

Additions:

Books bought/received for review/gifts: 9

Subtractions:

Books read this week: 2

TBR Books culled this week: 0

Total:

TBR now stands at: 1999

 

 

How’s your week been? I hope it’s been a good week, I’d love to hear what you’ve been up to and what you’ve been reading over the last seven days. If you do a wrap-up post please feel free to share a link below.

Weekly Wrap-Up! (9 Jul)

Posted on by

Weekly Wrap up SQUARE copyrighted

 

This week has been an up and down week. I felt really rough the first half of the week having overdone things in the previous days and my body made me pay. The last couple of days have been nice though as my husband has been on holiday from work and we managed to go into town yesterday for a coffee, which was lovely. It was my first time out of the house for something fun in nearly four weeks so it was especially lovely, plus the sun was shining too which is always a bonus!

This week I also managed to get us tickets to see Phil Collins in concert later this year. This is testament to how much I love my husband because he’s a big fan of Phil Collins and I’m really not so much! I’m always up for live music though so it’s something to look forward to.

My reading has been better this week too. I’m back reading non-fiction, which I’m very pleased about. I’m happy with what I’ve managed to read over the last seven days, albeit two of the books were short and the others are mainly books I started prior to this week but I’m pleased all the same.

 

This week I’ve finished reading five books:

 

The End We Start From by Megan Hunter

This is such a moving novella, it had so much more depth and was so much more moving than I was expecting and I loved reading it. I was sent this for review so will try and get my thoughts together to review this soon.

A Manual for Heartache by Cathy Rentzenbrink

I pre-ordered this book for my Kindle and read it over a couple of days in the week. I have to say that I found so much in this that was so soothing that I’ve now ordered a hardback copy as I feel sure this will be a book I read again and again. I’ll also be buying a couple of copies for gifts in the coming weeks. I highly recommend this book.

Last Seen by Lucy Clarke

I loved this book – I read it over two days (only because I needed to sleep in the middle otherwise it would have been in one sitting). Lucy Clarke can do no wrong in my eyes, I’ve loved all of her novels and this one may now be my joint favourite of hers. I’ll be reviewing the novel this week for the blog tour so look out for my stop on the 12th July.

My Sister Milly by Gemma Dowler

This book is such a heartbreaking read but I’m so glad I read it. I’d like to review this one at some point if I can get my thoughts together but for now I would recommend it.

A Line of Blood by Ben McPherson

This was my audio book over the last week. I did find this predictable, I called what was going to happen in the first chapter, but having said that there was still enough in it to keep me listening all the way to the end.

 

This week I’ve blogged four times:

Sunday: Weekly Wrap-Up post

Wednesday: WWW Wednesday post

Thursday: June Wrap-Up post

Saturday: Stacking the Shelves post (my new book haul)

 

This is what I’m currently reading:

Do Not Become Alarmed by Maile Meloy

I bought the ebook of this a couple of days ago and couldn’t resist starting it straight away. If I’m to be honest it’s not exactly what I thought it was going to be but it’s got me completely engrossed and I keep thinking about it when I’m not reading it and wondering how it’s all going to turn out in the end.

Not A Sound by Heather Gudenkauf

I’m reading this for a blog tour later this month and am really enjoying it. It’s interesting to read a thriller where the protagonist is deaf, it really adds another layer to things. I’d recommend this one.

 

The Child by Fiona Barton

This book has had to be left to one side this week as I just can’t manage to hold and turn the pages of a print book. I really hope I can get back to this very soon.

Baby Lost by Hannah Robert

I’ve been reading some more of this over the last couple of days and am back to being hooked. It’s such a moving, and emotional book but the way Hannah writes about her loss and her fight is very inspiring.

The Devil in the White City by Erik Larson

I’ve also got back to reading this book this week and am finding it fascinating. I noticed that for UK readers it’s currently in the kindle sale for £1.99 so if you were thinking of buying it now would be a good time.

 

the-state-of-my-2

Update on my TBR: 

TBR at the start of January 2017: 1885 (see my State of the TBR post)

TBR in last week’s Wrap-Up: 1982

Additions:

Books bought/received for review/gifts: 14

Subtractions:

Books read this week: 5

TBR Books culled this week: 0

Total:

TBR now stands at: 1991

 

 

How’s your week been? I hope it’s been a good week, I’d love to hear what you’ve been up to and what you’ve been reading over the last seven days. If you do a wrap-up post please feel free to share a link below.

Weekly Wrap-Up! (2 Jul)

Posted on by

Weekly Wrap up SQUARE copyrighted

 

This week has been another quiet week but I’m slowly having a de-clutter of the kitchen, which is proving very satisfying. I’ve discovered that I’m inadvertently a collector of jars – there were jars shoved in the back of a lot of cupboards and I had no idea I’d kept so many. They’ve now gone for recycling and we now have more space to put things away! Isn’t it funny how you don’t even realise the way your hoarding tendencies are playing out until you see the evidence for yourself?! Ha!

It was also an exciting week this week as my cousin has released his debut album. He lives in America so it’s wonderful that we live in an age where I can buy his album on iTunes in the UK on the day it was released! I’m so proud of him – his late mum and me were very close and I just know she would be bursting with pride at how he’s following his dreams.

 

This week I’ve finished reading three books:

The Hidden Legacy by G. J. Minett

This has been on my TBR ever since it was first published so I made it one of my choices for the #20BooksofSummer challenge and I’m so glad I did. I found myself really engrossed in this novel and very much enjoyed reading it.

Guilty Innocence by Maggie James

This book caught my eye on my kindle last week and I immediately started reading. I got completely wrapped up in this novel and am still thinking about it now, a week after finishing it. I highly recommend this one.

Eligible by Curtis Sittenfeld

This was another of my #20BooksofSummer picks and I adored this novel! I’m not the biggest fan of Pride and Prejudice but this modern take on it was brilliant. It’s a great read for the summer and I definitely recommend it if you haven’t already read it.

 

This week I’ve blogged four times:

Sunday: Weekly Wrap-Up post

Wednesday: WWW Wednesday post

Friday: Guest post by author Emily Benet on her ideal hen party as part of The Hen Party blog tour

Saturday: Stacking the Shelves post

 

This is what I’m currently reading:

My Sister Milly by Gemma Dowler

I bought this book after seeing Gemma on This Morning last week and I started reading it right away. It’s a tough read because you see the pain the family were in when Milly went missing and you know it’s not going to have a good outcome. This is a very powerful book, I recommend it.

A Line of Blood by Ben McPherson

This is my current audio book – I picked it on a whim and it’s an okay listen. I’m about 20% in and it’s lacking something for me at the moment but I’m intrigued enough to keep going for now so hopefully it will pick up a bit soon.

The Child by Fiona Barton

I’ve had to leave this to one side this week as I just haven’t been able to turn the pages of a print book. I was really engrossed in the novel though so I really hope I can get back to it soon. If all else fails I’ll look at getting the ebook or the audio so I can carry on with it.

The End We Start From by Megan Hunter

This is a book that has got to me in ways I wasn’t expecting when I started reading so I’m now reading it much slower and savouring it. It’s a beautiful book though and one I’ll be recommending.

Baby Lost by Hannah Robert AND The Devil in the White City by Erik Larson

Both of these books have been on hold again this week. I feel like I need to add them here as they are on my currently reading shelf and I do hope to continue with them soon. Both are brilliant reads, it’s just not been the right time for me to read them recently.

 

the-state-of-my-2

Update on my TBR: 

TBR at the start of January 2017: 1885 (see my State of the TBR post)

TBR in last week’s Wrap-Up: 1973

Additions:

Books bought/received for review/gifts: 9

Subtractions:

Books read this week: 3

TBR Books culled this week: 0

Total:

TBR now stands at: 1982

 

 

How’s your week been? I hope it’s been a good week, I’d love to hear what you’ve been up to and what you’ve been reading over the last seven days. If you do a wrap-up post please feel free to share a link below.

Weekly Wrap-Up! (25 Jun)

Posted on by

Weekly Wrap up SQUARE copyrighted

 

This week has been very quiet, and yet eventful at the same time. I’ve made a huge leap forward in terms of finally beating my PTSD once and for all. I faced a big fear this week and it was actually okay so I feel like that’s been a huge achievement. It’s left me feeling very drained so I’ve not been reading as much, or blogging ,but hopefully I’ll be back to normal soon.

 

This week I’ve finished reading three books:

Based on a True Story by Delphine de Vigan

I really enjoyed reading this. It was different than I was expecting but it’s one of those books that is really unsettling and gives you a lot to think about. I’m hoping to get my thoughts together so I can review this soon but I definitely recommend it.

The Law of Similars by Chris Bohjalian

This is the first book I’ve finished from my #20BooksOfSummer challenge. This was one of my three alternates but it was the one I most felt like reading so I went with it. I enjoyed this, it kept me hooked all the way through but I felt it was lacking something. I’m still planning to review it but need to get my thoughts together first.

Labor Day by Joyce Maynard

This book has been on my TBR for ages so when I spotted the audio book on my subscription service I decided to part listen and part read it. I very much enjoyed this one, it had an intensity to it that I wasn’t expecting and it really made an impression on me.

This week I’ve blogged five times:

Sunday: Weekly Wrap-Up post

                 Review of Exquisite by Sarah Stovell for the blog tour

Monday: Review of One of Us is Lying by Karen M. McManus

Wednesday: WWW Wednesday post

Saturday: Stacking the Shelves post

 

This is what I’m currently reading:

Guilty Innocence by Maggie James

I bought this book a while ago after reading some great reviews and it caught my eye on my kindle yesterday so I started reading. It’s such a good book – one of those books that stays in my head even when I’m not reading and that I can’t wait to get back to. I definitely recommend this and it’s currently only 99p on kindle, which is such a bargain for a great read.

The Child by Fiona Barton

I was sent a surprise copy of this for review a few weeks ago and I finally got to start reading it this week. I’m really enjoying it, it’s great to see journalist Kate back as she was my favourite character in The Widow.

The End We Start From by Megan Hunter

I was expecting this to be a book that really grabbed me but I wasn’t expecting it to be such an emotional read. I love when a book surprises me in this way and I’m really looking forward to reading more of it.

Eligible by Curtis Sittenfeld

I’ve really been loving reading this one, it’s a perfect summer read. I’m reading this as part of my #20BooksOfSummer challenge and I’m so glad I finally picked this up.

Baby Lost by Hannah Robert

I’ve not read anymore of this over the last week as I just haven’t been in the right frame of mind to read this but it is such an incredibly moving book and I will get back to it soon.

The Devil in the White City by Erik Larson

I’m still not in much of a non-fiction mood but I did read another couple of chapters of this book this week and it’s so interesting. I hope to be able to read a bigger chunk of this soon.

the-state-of-my-2

Update on my TBR:

TBR at the start of January 2017: 1885 (see my State of the TBR post)

TBR in last week’s Wrap-Up: 1956

Additions:

Books bought/received for review/gifts: 20

Subtractions:

Books read this week: 3

TBR Books culled this week: 0

Total:

TBR now stands at: 1973

Weekly Wrap-Up! (18 Jun)

Posted on by

Weekly Wrap up SQUARE copyrighted

 

 

This week has been a week of taking it easy so I’ve not had as many posts up on my blog, but it has been for a good reason. My husband and I went to see Kraftwerk on Wednesday night and it was an incredible show. They’re a band I never thought I would get to see live so it was brilliant. We didn’t take any photos of the concert but here’s the 3D glasses and a painted mural outside the venue 🙂 My pain levels and my neuro symptoms have been really bad the last couple of days but it was absolutely worth it to have had such a good night out.

 

This week I’ve finished reading five books:

The Nest by Cynthia D’Aprix Sweeney

I’ve been reading this book on and off for a couple of weeks now and have really enjoyed it. There was so much more in this novel than I was expecting and it’s one I definitely recommend.

Exquisite by Sarah Stovell

I read this novel in one sitting as I just couldn’t put it down. I’ve actually got my review on my blog today so you can read that here if you’d like to.

The Things We Thought We Knew by Mahsuda Snaith

This is a beautiful novel that I fell completely and utterly in love with. I’ve already reviewed this so you can read more of what I thought here if you’d like to. I highly recommend this book though, it’s stunning.

A Year Lost and Found by Michael Mayne

This is a very short book about the year Michael Mayne contracted a chronic illness and how he felt about that, and the role his strong religious beliefs played in how he coped. I found it a really soothing read, even though I’m not a religious person.

One of Us is Lying by Karen McManus

This is another book that I’ve been reading on and off for a couple of weeks. I enjoyed it but it didn’t completely wow me. I’m still trying to write my review but hopefully I’ll have it posted soon.

 

This week I’ve blogged four times:

Sunday: Weekly Wrap-Up post

Wednesday: WWW Wednesday post

Friday: Review of The Things We Thought We Knew by Mahsuda Snaith

Saturday: Stacking the Shelves post

 

This is what I’m currently reading:

Eligible by Curtis Sittenfeld

I only just started reading this last night but I’m a few chapters in and enjoying it. I think it’s a good pick for one of my #20bookofsummer reads.

The Law of Similars by Chris Bohjalian

This was one of my three spare picks for my #20booksofsummer and it’s the one that has been calling to me the most. It grabbed me in the first chapter and I’m really hooked.

Baby Lost by Hannah Robert

I’ve not read much more of this over the last week as I just haven’t been in the mood for non-fiction. I’m hoping to get back to it soon as it’s such an interesting and moving read.

The Devil in the White City by Erik Larson

This has been on hold over the last couple of weeks too but I knew when I started this book that it would be a book that I read on and off as I felt up to it. I do hope to get back to it as soon as my non-fiction mojo returns.

Based on a True Story by Delphine de Vigan

I did read a bit more of this over the last week but I put it down again for the last few days as I was reading a book for a blog tour that was giving me a similar vibe and I didn’t want to risk them getting confused in my head. I will be picking this back up in the next day or so though.

the-state-of-my-2

Update on my TBR: 

TBR at the start of January 2017: 1885 (see my State of the TBR post)

TBR in last week’s Wrap-Up: 1958

Additions:

Books bought/received for review/gifts: 3

Subtractions:

Books read this week: 5

TBR Books culled this week: 0

Total:

TBR now stands at: 1956

 

 

I’m linking this post up to Kimberly at Caffeinated Book Reviewer’s Sunday Blog Share.  It’s a chance to share news~ A post to recap the past week on your blog and showcase books and things we have received. Share news about what is coming up on our blog for the week ahead.

 

How has your week been? What have you been reading? Please share in the comments below. If you write a wrap-up on your blog please feel free to share the link. 🙂

Weekly Wrap-Up! (11 Jun)

Posted on by

Weekly Wrap up SQUARE copyrighted

 

This week has been a quiet-ish week but a tiring one. I’ve been feeling really unsettled after hearing about the death of my great-aunty last week, and when I feel like this it’s always so much harder to read. It’s frustrating that at the times I most need escape I struggle to read but it’s just the way it is with me.

I had a really difficult but ultimately very positive appointment this week to do with my PTSD. I’ve long considered myself better but there are still triggers that I have to be mindful of and by chance I’m having a treatment that is making a real difference. I don’t want to talk in any detail but it is an amazing experience when the wonderful memories that have been blocked by the trauma suddenly come flooding back. It made for a very emotional day but a really good step forward.

This week I’ve finished reading three books:

Fabrice Muamba: I’m Still Standing by Fabrice Muamba

I’ve had this book on my TBR for a long time so this week when I picked it out of my TBR jar I decided to read it. It was a really moving and inspiring read. Fabrice Muamba has had such an interesting life and it was really enjoyable to read about his childhood. It’s incredible to read about his more recent years and to know just how amazing it is that he survived his cardiac arrest.

The Lie of the Land by Amanda Craig

This is such a brilliant novel. I honestly loved it from the first chapter all the way through and I highly recommend it. I’ve already reviewed it on my blog so you can read that here if you’d like to know more.

Into the Water by Paula Hawkins

I finished reading this last weekend and really enjoyed it. I think I preferred The Girl on the Train but I would definitely still recommend this one.

 

This week I’ve blogged five times:

Sunday: Weekly Wrap-Up Post

Wednesday: WWW Wednesday post

Thursday: Author Kate Vane guest posted about the title of her new novel, The Former Chief Executive

Friday: Review of The Lie of the Land by Amanda Craig

Saturday: Stacking the Shelves post

 

This is what I’m currently reading:

Baby Lost by Hannah Robert

This is such a sad and moving memoir but it’s a book I definitely recommend. It’s about a woman who was in a car accident when 8 months pregnant and her baby died, she then had to deal with the horrendous legal fact that her baby wasn’t considered a person because she wasn’t born at the time of the accident. I haven’t read much of this book this week as I haven’t felt up to reading an emotional book. I will be getting back to is as soon as I can though.

The Devil in the White City by Erik Larson

I also haven’t read any more of this book this week as I just haven’t been in the mood to read it. I was very much enthralled in it so will be getting back to it once my reading mojo returns.

The Nest by Cynthia D’Aprix Sweeney

This is another book that’s been left to one side this week but again I will get back to it soon.

One of Us is Lying by Karen McManus

I’ve read a bit more of this book over the last few days as it’s been easier for me to concentrate on this and has been a good distraction.

Based on a True Story by Delphine de Vigan

This book has fallen by the wayside a bit too this week but it’s entirely down to my mood and nothing to do with the book. I’ll be picking this up once I feel brighter but I want to leave it until then as I don’t want my current slump to affect my opinion of this brilliant book.

 

the-state-of-my-2

Update on my TBR:

TBR at the start of January 2017: 1885 (see my State of the TBR post)

TBR in last week’s Wrap-Up: 1948

Additions:

Books bought/received for review/gifts: 13

Subtractions:

Books read this week: 3

TBR Books culled this week: 0

Total:

TBR now stands at: 1958

 

 

I’m linking this post up to Kimberly at Caffeinated Book Reviewer’s Sunday Blog Share.  It’s a chance to share news~ A post to recap the past week on your blog and showcase books and things we have received. Share news about what is coming up on our blog for the week ahead.

 

How has your week been? What have you been reading? Please share in the comments below. If you write a wrap-up on your blog please feel free to share the link. 🙂

Weekly Wrap-Up! (4 June)

Posted on by

Weekly Wrap up SQUARE copyrighted

 

This week has been one of those up and down weeks.

My medication changes are going okay, there have been some tough days but not every day has been horrendous so I’m grateful for that.

Sadly, I found out on Friday night that my great aunty has died. She was a lovely lady, and I will miss her. It’s made me doubly sad to think that she was the last member of my mum’s side of the family from a previous generation. It’s hard to think that all the memories she held are gone forever. I find these days that any loss brings back the grief of my mum’s death and it hits me harder for that. It’s left me in a reflective mood. I’m trying to lose myself in books.

This week I’ve finished reading seven books:

Be Awesome by Hadley Freeman

I’ve owned a copy of this book for ages but when I saw it on my audio subscription app I decided to listen to it. I have to be honest and say that I didn’t enjoy it very much. There were some parts that really spoke to me but most of it was just not that great. It wasn’t the book that I was expecting it to be. It was my first book of June so I’m hoping the rest of the month goes better!

How to Survive a Plague by David France

This book is incredible, I honestly can’t recommend it highly enough. It’s non-fiction and about the AIDS crisis in the 80s and early 90s. I’ve read other books about it but there was something about this book that really got to me. It made me so angry at how people were treated, at the lack of care from the system and it was made even more sad by the way some of the delays in finding a treatment happened. It’s a very powerful and moving book. I was thinking of reviewing it but I’m not sure that I could in any way do it justice.

After Anna by Alex Lake

This is another pick that has been on my TBR for ages. I found it a fast-paced, quick read but it was predictable. I did work out what had happened straight away so it was a bit disappointing. It’s an alright read though, and I would still read the author’s next book to see how I find it.

How We Met by Katy Regan

This is another pick from my older TBR and I enjoyed it. It’s contemporary fiction but had a bit of depth to it, which I appreciated. It’s not a book that I would be drawn to buying these days but it made a nice change from my usual reads.

I Know My Name by C.J. Cooke

This book is brilliant! It’s a real psychological thriller – it was near impossible to put down and it had me feeling really unnerved. I’ve already reviewed this so you can read more of what I thought of it here if you’d like to. I highly recommend reading this book though – it’s the best psychological thriller I’ve read this year so far!

Wishbones by Virginia McGregor

I spotted this on my audio book app this week and I was in the mood for listening to something a bit lighter. I really enjoyed this middle-grade book and would definitely recommend it.

Letting Go by Alex Hanscombe

This is another audio book that I finished listening to this week. It’s the memoir of Alex Hanscombe, all about how he came to terms with the murder of his mother Rachel Nickell, when he was a young child. It’s a really moving and inspiring book, I recommend it.

This week I’ve blogged six times:

Sunday: Weekly Wrap-Up Post 

Tuesday: My TBR for the #20BooksofSummer challenge

Wednesday: WWW Wednesday Post

Thursday: May Wrap-Up Post

Friday: Review of I Know My Name by C.J. Cooke

Saturday: Stacking the Shelves post

 

This is what I’m currently reading:

One of Us is Lying by Karen McManus

I’ve finally got around to starting this review book and although it’s not exactly what I thought it was going to be, I am really enjoying it. I’m intrigued to find out how it’s all going to end up.

The Devil in the White City by Erik Larson

This book has been recommended to me so many times so I finally decided to buy a copy this week and I immediately started reading it. It’s a fascinating look at the Chicago World Fair, which I knew a little bit about, and the serial killer H. H. Holmes, who I’d never heard of before. I’ll be reading this book on and off for the next few weeks in between other books.

The Lie of the Land by Amanda Craig

This is an engrossing character-driven novel about a couple whose marriage has broken down but they can’t afford to get divorced. It’s a really insightful look at relationships and I’m really enjoying it.

The Nest by Cynthia D’Aprix Sweeney

I bought this book a few months ago on a whim and have since seen good things about it so was keen to start reading it. I’m really enjoying it. It’s a book about a family who are expecting a substantial inheritance but the mother of the family goes against what the adult children thought would happen and now the family are at loggerheads with each other.

Based on a True Story by Delphine de Vigan

I haven’t read much more of this book this week as it’s a book I wanted to be engrossed in but my mind has needed much easier reads. I definitely want to get back to this as soon as I can though as I’m very much enjoying it.

Into the Water by Paula Hawkins

I’m back reading this book this week and am gripped! It’s such a good read and so far I’m suspicious of most of the characters and am keen to know how it will all turn out in the end.

 

the-state-of-my-2

Update on my TBR: 

TBR at the start of January 2017: 1885 (see my State of the TBR post)

TBR in last week’s Wrap-Up: 1944

Additions:

Books bought/received for review/gifts: 11

Subtractions:

Books read this week: 7

TBR Books culled this week: 0

Total:

TBR now stands at: 1948

 

 

I’m linking this post up to Kimberly at Caffeinated Book Reviewer’s Sunday Blog Share.  It’s a chance to share news~ A post to recap the past week on your blog and showcase books and things we have received. Share news about what is coming up on our blog for the week ahead.

 

How has your week been? What have you been reading? Please share in the comments below. If you write a wrap-up on your blog please feel free to share the link. 🙂

Weekly Wrap-Up! (28 May)

Posted on by

Weekly Wrap up SQUARE copyrighted

 

This week has a quiet one due to all the medication changes I have going on, and this alongside the hot weather has floored me over the last few days. I’m just taking things as they come at the moment and will be doing so for the next week or two at least. I do have some posts scheduled on my blog so they will still appear, and will be tweeted and posted on Facebook but I’ll only be around occasionally as and when I feel up to it. I really appreciate all of you for bearing with me in the meantime.

This week I’ve finished reading three books:

Making Space by Sarah Tierney

I loved every minute that I spent reading this novel, it just really grabbed me and I could identify so much with both of the main characters in the book. I’ve already reviewed this book so you can read my thoughts on it here if you’d like to.

Eleanor by Jason Gurley

This was my latest pick from my pre-2017 TBR and while it turned out to be not what I was expecting, I did enjoy it. There was more sci-fi elements to the book than I thought there would be but it was an interesting novel and I’m glad I read it.

Eleanor Oliphant is Completely Fine by Gail Honeyman

This book is stunning. I was hooked from the very first page and I feel quite bereft at having finished it. Eleanor Oliphant is one of those characters that gets under your skin and I’m sure she’ll stay with me for a very long time to come. I’ve also already reviewed this book so you can find that here if you want to read more about what I thought of it.

 

This week I’ve blogged six times:

Sunday: Weekly Wrap-Up post

Monday: Review of The Honeymoon by Tina Seskis

Wednesday: WWW Wednesday post

Thursday: Review of Making Space by Sarah Tierney for the blog tour

Friday: Review of Eleanor Oliphant is Completely Fine by Gail Honeyman

Saturday: Stacking the Shelves post

 

This is what I’m currently reading:

Letting Go by Alex Hanscombe

This is an incredibly moving and interesting memoir written by the son of Rachel Nickell, the young mum who was murdered on Wimbledon Common as her 3 year old watched on. Alex is such a pragmatic and thoughtful man and it’s very inspiring to read how he came to terms with losing his mother in such an horrific way.

Based on a True Story by Delphine de Vigan

I’ve been really looking forward to reading this book and it absolutely doesn’t disappoint.  Every time I pick this book up I get completely enthralled and am fascinated by this book.

Into the Water by Paula Hawkins

This is such a good read, I’m really enjoying reading it.

How to Survive a Plague by David France

I’ve been reading more of this book this week and have got so engrossed in it that it’s taken me away from my other books.

 

the-state-of-my-2

Update on my TBR:

TBR at the start of January 2017: 1885 (see my State of the TBR post)

TBR in last week’s Wrap-Up: 1941

Additions:

Books bought/received for review/gifts: 6

Subtractions:

TBR Books culled this week: 3

Total:

TBR now stands at: 1944

 

 

I’m linking this post up to Kimberly at Caffeinated Book Reviewer’s Sunday Blog Share.  It’s a chance to share news~ A post to recap the past week on your blog and showcase books and things we have received. Share news about what is coming up on our blog for the week ahead.

 

How has your week been? What have you been reading? Please share in the comments below. If you write a wrap-up on your blog please feel free to share the link. 🙂

Weekly Wrap-Up (21 May)

Posted on by

Weekly Wrap up SQUARE copyrighted

 

This week has been a strange week. I was meant to switch my pain meds last weekend but the NHS cyber attack last week has held that up. I’m hoping to be able to get started on this in the couple of days or so though. So, as I said last week, I may be around less in the coming days, so please bear with me if I miss replying to any comments, or sharing posts etc.

I also had an appointment at home with my lovely neuro-physio and we’ve been talking about changing to a less-cumbersome leg brace now that my foot is holding a better position. I will need to wear my old one some of the time but it’s really fab to think that I might be able to change to something more comfortable.

 

This week I’ve finished reading six books:

The Honeymoon by Tina Seskis

This book has taken me longer to read than I thought it would and I’m not sure why because I really loved it. I think it was just a bad time for me to pick it up. It’s a brilliant read though, I recommend it.

The Light We Lost by Jill Santopolo

I adored this book – it’s such a beautiful novel and one that will really stay with me for a long time to come. I reviewed it on my blog yesterday so you can read that here if you’d like to.

Becky by Darren Galsworthy

I saw this on my audio book site this week and decided to listen to it. It was such a moving read. I’m sure many people remember the news when teenager Becky Watts went missing a couple of years ago and it turned out her step-brother had murdered her. Her dad is so open in this book and I really admire his strength and openness.

Playlist for the Dead by Michelle Falkoff

This book has been on my TBR for ages and if I’m to be honest I have no idea when or why I bought it. I’m trying to read through some of my TBR this year so decided to give this a go. It was actually a good read, but because I’m older then the target audience I don’t think I got as much out of it as others may do.

Fragile Lives by Stephen Westaby

I really enjoyed reading this memoir. Stephen Westaby is an esteemed heart-surgeon in this book he shares some of his most memorable surgeries and patients. I’ll be reviewing this book soon but I highly recommend it.

Missing, Presumed by Susie Steiner

This is yet another book that has been languishing on my TBR. I actually bought this the day it was released and then never got around to reading it. I’m kicking myself about that now though as very much enjoyed this book and now am really looking forward to reading the next book in the series which is out soon.

 

This week I’ve blogged seven times:

Sunday: Weekly Wrap-Up

Monday: Review of The Keeper of Lost Things by Ruth Hogan

Tuesday: Review of The Power by Naomi Alderman

Wednesday: WWW Wednesday post

Thursday: Review of Final Girls by Riley Sager

Friday: Review of The Light We Lost by Jill Santopolo

Saturday: Stacking the Shelves post

This is what I’m currently reading:

Making Space by Sarah Tierney

I’m almost finished reading this book and have really enjoyed reading it. I’m on the blog tour for this book later this week so look out for my review on Thursday (25th May).

Eleanor by Jason Gurley

I spotted this on my TBR this week and decided to make it my next read. I have to be honest and say that sci-fi isn’t really my thing these days so I’m enjoying the parts of this book set in the present reality more than the other parts but it is a really engaging read so I’ll keep going with this.

Eleanor Oliphant is Completely Fine by Gail Honeyman

I’m enjoying this book so much – I’m trying to savour it because I know I’ll feel bereft when I get to the end of Eleanor’s story. It’s such an excellent novel.

How to Survive a Plague by David France

I haven’t read much more of this week but I will be getting back to it as soon as I can. It’s such a powerful book.

 

the-state-of-my-2

Update on my TBR: 

TBR at the start of January 2017: 1885 (see my State of the TBR post)

TBR in last week’s Wrap-Up: 1932

Additions:

Books bought/received for review/gifts: 9

Subtractions:

 

TBR Books culled this week: 0

Total:

TBR now stands at: 1941

Oops! My TBR has increased this week after two weeks of keeping it fairly stable… ah well!

 

I’m linking this post up to Kimberly at Caffeinated Book Reviewer’s Sunday Blog Share.  It’s a chance to share news~ A post to recap the past week on your blog and showcase books and things we have received. Share news about what is coming up on our blog for the week ahead.

 

How has your week been? What have you been reading? Please share in the comments below. If you write a wrap-up on your blog please feel free to share the link. 🙂

 

Weekly Wrap-Up (14 May)

Posted on by

Weekly Wrap up SQUARE copyrighted

 

 

IMG_9046

In happy news this week… I managed to have an hour out with my husband. The gorgeous weather coincided with his day off earlier this week so we went and sat in a lovely pub beer garden and had lunch outside. It was bliss to feel the sun on my skin and to just be outside for a little while. And it was wonderful to have time out with my husband and to just feel normal for a while. It’s been months since I’ve spent time outside and it made me so happy. This was our view 🙂

This week has been quite positive on the medical front but it means tough times ahead in the short term but will be worth it in the longer run. I’ve now managed to reduce my pain meds enough that I can switch to different meds, which will give me more control. In the short term this means my condition will be much worse due to sudden withdrawal and an increase in pain while my body adjusts. I’m trying to focus on the longer term when I will hopefully be better able to control my pain without feeling drugged up all the time. I’m only sharing this here as once the med change happens (it’s due to be in the next couple of days but it will depend on the NHS being back up and running) I will probably be around less for a little while. I may miss replying to comments here, or commenting and sharing your posts so please bear with me, I will be around as and when I can be.

I did have a productive couple of days at the start of last week and managed to write quite a few reviews and posts so I’ve got those scheduled. It means there will still be posts from me but I might not necessarily be around when the posts appear and links are tweeted.

This week I’ve finished reading four books:

The Zero by Jess Walter

This was my audio book for this week and I very much enjoyed listening to it. It’s a novel set around the 9/11 terrorist attacks in New York but the main character is losing chunks of time and is increasingly confused so the story is told out of order. This book was so much more than I was expecting and I’m so glad that I stumbled upon it when sorting out my Kindle last week.

Fairytale Interrupted by RoseMarie Terenzio

This was an interesting book written by John F. Kennedy Jr.’s assistant. I enjoyed reading about the setting up of George magazine, and about John and Carolyn. I did find that Terenzio is a bit irritating at times but it didn’t stop me enjoying the book for the most part.

The Comfort of Others by Kay Langdale

This is a beautiful novel, one that I think I’ll be reading again in the future. I was sent this for review so I’m hoping to get my thoughts written up and posted very soon.

The Way Back Home by Freya North

I was such a fan of Freya North’s novels when she was first published but I haven’t read anything by her for a few years now. I’m not sure when I bought this book but I found it on my kindle last week and decided to read it right away. I really enjoyed it, it isn’t my favourite book by her but it was a good read. I especially loved that Cat and Django from an earlier novel featured in this novel, it was nice to see how they both were.

 

This week I’ve blogged seven times:

Sunday: Weekly Wrap-Up

Monday: Guest post by Paul E. Hardisty about the evolution of his protagonist Claymore Stryker as part of the Reconciliation for the Dead blog tour

Tuesday: Review of Little Deaths by Emma Flint

Wednesday: WWW Wednesday

Thursday: Review of The One Memory of Flora Banks by Emily Barr

Friday: Review of The People at Number 9 by Felicity Everett

Saturday: Stacking the Shelves

 

This is what I’m currently reading:

Eleanor Oliphant is Completely Fine by Gail Honeyman

I started reading this yesterday and am already engrossed. Eleanor Oliphant is a great character and it feels like she could be one of those characters that really stays with me after I finish the book.

The Light We Lost by Jill

I started reading this last night and it’s got me hooked. I’m intrigued by where the story is going and what happened between these two people.

The Honeymoon by Tina Seskis

This book is so gripping, it grabbed me on the first page and I begrudge having to put the book down when real life intervenes on my reading time.

Missing, Presumed by Susie Steiner

This is another book that has been on my TBR for ages – I actually bought it when it was published but never got around to reading it. I’ve discovered the audio version is part of my subscription service so I’m part listening and part reading it. I’m really enjoying it and am intrigued to know where the story is going.

Fragile Lives by Stephen Westaby

This is an incredible memoir of a top heart surgeon and I’ve been fascinated by the various surgeries that he has been involved with, or has pioneered himself. I’d recommend this book to everyone.

How to Survive a Plague by David France

I’ve read another chapter of this book this week and am really engrossed in it now. It’s a similar book to And the Band Played on by Randy Schilts, and some of the same people do feature but a different perspective is given so it’s fascinating. I do find it utterly horrifying how various political elements stopped the cause of AIDS being known sooner.

 

the-state-of-my-2

Update on my TBR:

TBR at the start of January 2017: 1885 (see my State of the TBR post)

TBR in last week’s Wrap-Up: 1934

Additions:

Books bought/received for review/gifts: 8

Subtractions:

Books read this week: 4

Books I’m currently reading: 6

TBR Books culled this week: 0

Total:

TBR now stands at: 1932

Woo hoo! My TBR has gone down by two, which I’m very happy with. 🙂

 

I’m linking this post up to Kimberly at Caffeinated Book Reviewer’s Sunday Blog Share.  It’s a chance to share news~ A post to recap the past week on your blog and showcase books and things we have received. Share news about what is coming up on our blog for the week ahead.

 

How has your week been? What have you been reading? Please share in the comments below. If you write a wrap-up on your blog please feel free to share the link. 🙂

 

Weekly Wrap-Up (7 May)

Posted on by

Weekly Wrap up SQUARE copyrighted

 

This week has been a quiet one for the most part with nothing major to write about so I’ll get straight on to my reading and blogging news…

 

This week I’ve finished reading five books:

Dead Woman Walking by Sharon Bolton

I loved this book – it’s one of those novels that grabs you on the first page and then the pace doesn’t really let up throughout. I’m thinking that I might try and review this one soon.

Block 46 by Johana Gustawsson

This book is incredible. It’s so powerful and brutal but compelling at the same time. I reviewed this for the blog tour this week so you can read my thoughts on it here if you’d like to.

My Dear I Wanted to Tell You by Louisa Young

I’ve had this book on my TBR for five years and finally picked it up this week. I’m annoyed at myself for not reading it sooner as I very much enjoyed it. So much so that I immediately picked up the second book in the trilogy…

The Heroes’ Welcome by Louisa Young

This is the second book in the above trilogy and has also been on my TBR for a while so I was really pleased that I enjoyed the first book and could get straight on with this one. The third book is now awaiting me on my TBR and I’m looking forward to reading that soon.

The Elephant in the Room by Jon Ronson

This is a very short book (52 pages) all about the run-up to the 2016 American presidential election and is very interesting. It predominantly looks at some of the men involved in the Trump campaign and how much influence they may have had.

 

 

This week I’ve blogged six times:

Sunday: Weekly Wrap-Up

                Review of The Wild Air by Rebecca Mascull for the blog tour

Monday: April Wrap-Up

Wednesday: WWW Wednesday

                        Review of Block 46 by Johana Gustawsson for the blog tour

Saturday: Stacking the Shelves

 

This is what I’m currently reading:

 

Fairytale Interrupted by RoseMarie Terenzio

I can’t even remember when I got this book but it was on my TBR and I spotted it when sorting my kindle this week. I picked it up and was intrigued enough to keep reading. It’s a book about John F. Kennedy Jr by his PA. I’m about a quarter of the way through it at the moment and so far it’s predominantly about setting up the magazine George and is really interesting.

The Way Back Home by Freya North

This is another book that I noticed when sorting my Kindle out and decided to make it my next read. I’ve read 10% of it so far and am struggling to get into it but I’ve always enjoyed Freya North’s books so am going to give it a bit longer to see if it grabs me.

Fragile Lives by Stephen Westaby

I was sent this for review a couple of months ago and finally got to pick it up this week. It’s a hard read because of the subject matter but it’s fascinating and I’m looking forward to reading more.

The Comfort of Others by Kay Langdale

This book is so beautiful and I hope to be able to read more of this week. I’m really enjoying it but am struggling to read the faint print at the moment. I’m considering buying the ebook book, or the audio book if there is one, so I can find out what happens.

How to Survive a Plague by David France

I read another couple of chapters of this book this week and am really engrossed in it. It’s a very powerful book and one I highly recommend.

the-state-of-my-2

Update on my TBR:

TBR at the start of January 2017: 1885 (see my State of the TBR post)

TBR in last week’s Wrap-Up: 1933

Additions:

Books bought/received for review/gifts: 12

Subtractions:

Books read this week: 5

Books I’m currently reading: 5

TBR Books culled this week: 1

Total:

TBR now stands at: 1934

I’m really pleased that I’ve very nearly broken even with my TBR this week! Obviously it’d be better if I was reading more books than I was acquiring but keeping my TBR steady is better than the numbers going up and up!

 

 

I’m linking this post up to Kimberly at Caffeinated Book Reviewer’s Sunday Blog Share.  It’s a chance to share news~ A post to recap the past week on your blog and showcase books and things we have received. Share news about what is coming up on our blog for the week ahead.

 

How has your week been? What have you been reading? Please share in the comments below. If you write a wrap-up on your blog please feel free to share the link. 🙂

Weekly Wrap-Up (30 April)

Posted on by

Weekly Wrap up SQUARE copyrighted

 

 

 

IMG_8930

Our RSD17 haul

It’s been a week of ups and downs this week! The ups were fab… my husband and I went record shopping on Record Store Day last Saturday and that was a lot of fun. It meant getting up at stupid o’clock to go wait in a queue in the freezing cold but that’s all part of it. The staff at the shop we went to were lovely – they handed out cups of tea and bacon rolls for anyone who wanted them, and they were so accommodating of me in my wheelchair when it became apparent that I wouldn’t be able to get into the shop easily. We had a list of a few records that we really wanted to get and we were lucky to get all but two of them. We’ve since managed to get the final two online yesterday morning when all the remaining records were allowed to be put online by the record shops.

Unfortunately, it was overly ambitious for me to cope with being out so long in the cold and when we got home I had an horrendous fall. I managed to bruise all of my left side and banged my head quite badly. It really shook me up. I am prone to falling with my condition as my balance is off and I only have sensation in one leg (I’m paralysed down my right side) but this was the worst fall I’ve had in a while. Thankfully I’m starting to feel better now but it has affected me for most of this week.

Due to feeling so rough I’ve been taking it easy and have enjoyed relaxing with some audio books – they make up most of my reading for this week.

This week I’ve finished reading six books:

The Wild Air by Rebecca Mascull

This is such a wonderful novel, I absolutely loved it. I’m actually on the blog tour today so you can read my review here if you’d like to.

Foxlowe by Eleanor Wasserberg

This is one of my audio books for this week and I really enjoyed listening to it. I’d heard a lot of mixed things about the novel but I found it engaging and it had me hooked all the way through. I listened to it over three sittings and when I wasn’t listening I was thinking about it.

The Bookshop by Penelope Fitzgerald

I’ve had this book on my TBR for a while now so when I found it on my audio subscription this week I decided to listen to it. I’m annoyed with myself for not reading this before now as it was brilliant. I already want to read it again as it feels like it’s one of those short novels that is packed with so much subtle detail.

Titanic Lives by Richard Davenport-Hines

I really enjoyed this book, it was fascinating to find out more about the people who were involved with Titanic – from the designers to the engineers to the passengers. I knew a lot of the stories told in this book but some of it was new to me so it was nice to find out some things I didn’t know before.

He Said / She Said by Erin Kelly

I have to admit that I struggled to get into this book but once I did get into it I couldn’t put it down. I hope to get my review written and posted soon but I definitely recommend it.

Luuurve is a Many Trousered Thing by Louise Rennison

I picked this up after my fall the other day and it was a perfect read for that moment in time. I’m way older than the target audience for this book but I still found it amusing. Louise Rennison really was such a great writer.

This week I’ve blogged five times:

Sunday: Weekly Wrap-Up

Monday: Interview with Kay Langdale for The Comfort of Others blog tour

Wednesday: WWW Wednesday

Thursday: Review of See What I Have Done by Sarah Schmidt

Saturday: Stacking the Shelves

 

This is what I’m currently reading:

Block 46 by Johana Gustawsson

I’m finding this book hard to put down, it grabbed me early on and I’m begrudging the time when real life stops me from reading more. I’ll be reviewing this book on Wednesday for the blog tour so look out for my review then.

Dead Woman Walking by Sharon Bolton

I can barely put into words how much I’m enjoying this book. If it wasn’t for me having such a bad week and struggling to hold a book to read I’d having finished this in a couple of sittings. I really hope I can get back to this very soon.

The Comfort of Others by Kay Langdale

This is another book that I’ve had to leave to one side this week due to not being able to hold a print book very well. I was adoring it though and can’t wait to get back to it.

How to Survive a Plague by David France

This is a really moving and powerful read that stays in your head every time you put it down. It’s interesting and well-written and I’m looking forward to reading more of it this week.

 

the-state-of-my-2

Update on my TBR: 

TBR at the start of January 2017: 1885 (see my State of the TBR post)

TBR in last week’s Wrap-Up: 1941

Additions:

Books bought/received for review/gifts: 11

Subtractions:

Books read this week: 6

Books I’m currently reading: 4

TBR Books culled this week: 9

Total:

TBR now stands at: 1933

 

I’m linking this post up to Kimberly at Caffeinated Book Reviewer’s Sunday Blog Share.  It’s a chance to share news~ A post to recap the past week on your blog and showcase books and things we have received. Share news about what is coming up on our blog for the week ahead.

 

How has your week been? What have you been reading? Please share in the comments below. If you write a wrap-up on your blog please feel free to share the link. 🙂

Weekly Wrap-Up (23 April)

Posted on by

Weekly Wrap up SQUARE copyrighted

 

This week has been an okay week, it was nice not to have any medical appointments or treatment and to be able to just potter about at home.

I’ve not managed to read quite as much as usual as I spent time catching up on Broadchurch (I’m sad this has ended as I loved it) and Big Little Lies (I read the book when it first came out but I can only remember half of how it ends so I’m intrigued to see how it all turns out. No spoilers please as it doesn’t air in the UK until tomorrow night. I think the casting for this show has been perfect and has made it such a brilliant series. I’ll miss it when it ends). I don’t watch a lot of TV but when I find a programme I like I tend to get hooked until it’s finished.

As I’m writing this post it’s Friday afternoon… I’m finishing and scheduling this post early this week (I normally write and schedule in advance and then amend the night before it posts if I’ve started or finished any other books) as I’m hoping to go record shopping on Saturday morning with my husband. It’s Record Store Day and there are some fab-sounding records on the list that we’d love to get.  I’ll update my instagram with our purchases and will write about how it went in next Sunday’s wrap-up post. I’m so hoping I manage to go – I haven’t left the house, other than for a handful of medical appointments, in literally weeks as I’ve been too unwell so it would be brilliant to get out.

 

This week I’ve finished reading three books:

No Turning Back by Tracy Buchanan

I’ve had this on my TBR since it was published and this week it caught my eye in my audio library and I decided to pick it up. I listened to it over a couple of days and enjoyed it.

What I Talk About When I Talk About Running by Haruki Murakami

This was a really interesting listen that I very much enjoyed. It may seem odd to read a book about marathon running when I can’t walk more than a handful of tiny steps but there was so much in this book that really struck a chord with me. It’s interesting to read about his writing process too. I’d recommend this.

This Love by Dani Atkins

I read this book in two sittings and fell completely in love with the story. This is one of those books that stays in your mind after you finish reading and I think it’ll be a rare book that I re-read in the future. I reviewed this on my blog this week so you can read my thoughts here if you’d like to.

 

This week I’ve blogged six times:

Sunday: Weekly Wrap-Up post

Monday: The Affair by Amanda Brooke

Tuesday: Interview with Jennifer Gilmour, author of Isolation Junction

Wednesday: WWW Wednesday post

Thursday: Review of This Love by Dani Atkins

Saturday: Stacking the Shelves post

 

This is what I’m currently reading:

Dead Woman Walking by Sharon Bolton

I pre-ordered this book when I first heard about it and then forgot when release day was so it was a fab surprise this week when it arrived on my Kindle. I’m already reading this and am hooked, it’s such a great premise for a novel.

Luuurve is a Many Trousered Thing by Louise Rennison

I love this series of books, it never fails to make me smile (even though I’m way older than the target audience) as it’s such fun writing. I was feeling really down yesterday after my fall so picked this up and it’s a perfect read for just now.

The Comfort of Others by Kay Langdale

This book is gorgeous, I can’t quite put into words how much I’m loving this book. I’m deliberately reading it slowly to savour it. I’m on the blog tour for this on Monday and have a lovely interview with Kay that I can’t wait to share.

 

Titanic Lives by Richard Davenport-Hines

I’m still listening to the audio book of this and am finding it really interesting. Some of the things I knew and others I didn’t, the book is a really nice mix of stories about people involved in the building, or who were due to sail on the Titanic.

He Said/She Said by Erin Kelly

I’ve not picked this up much this week as I’ve been listening to more audio books. I’m really keen to know where this story is going though and really hope to pick this back up very soon.

How to Survive a Plague by David France

This is another book that’s suffered from me leaning more towards audio books this week but I was finding this absolutely fascinating and I really want to get back to it this week.

 

the-state-of-my-2

Update on my TBR:

TBR at the start of January 2017: 1885 (see my State of the TBR post)

TBR in last week’s Wrap-Up: 1929

Additions:

Books bought/received for review/gifts: 12

Subtractions:

Books read this week: 3

Books I’m currently reading: 6

TBR Books culled this week: 0

Total:

TBR now stands at: 1941

 

I’m linking this post up to Kimberly at Caffeinated Book Reviewer’s Sunday Blog Share.  It’s a chance to share news~ A post to recap the past week on your blog and showcase books and things we have received. Share news about what is coming up on our blog for the week ahead.

 

How has your week been? What have you been reading? Please share in the comments below. If you write a wrap-up on your blog please feel free to share the link. 🙂

Weekly Wrap-Up (16 April)

Posted on by

Weekly Wrap up SQUARE copyrighted

This week has been a tough one for various reasons. It would have been my mum’s birthday this week so I always find that an emotional day. It’s a few years now since my mum died but that wave of grief still catches me unawares sometimes and it’s tough.

I also started some new treatment aimed at helping with my pain. I wasn’t sure what to expect from the treatment but it was certainly much harder than I thought it would be. I’m hopeful that it may help me manage my pain in the longer term though so will definitely be continuing with it. It was exhausting though – I was absolutely shattered for two days afterwards so spent a lot of time just resting and listening to audio books.

This week I’ve finished reading five books:

The People at Number 9 by Felicity Everett

I had a review copy of this to read but I ended up listening to it on audio and really enjoyed it. I hope to get my review written and posted soon.

The Affair by Amanda Brooke

I enjoyed this book – it was different to what I was expecting and kept me hooked all the way through. Hopefully I’ll get my review up in the next week or so.

The Power by Naomi Alderman

This is another book I had a review copy of but I ended up switching to audio part way though. I enjoyed this book but I’m not sure that I would have enjoyed it as much if I was reading it rather than listening. I’ll write my review once I’ve got my thoughts in order.

The Cows by Dawn O’Porter

I loved this book and can’t praise it highly enough. It was such an eye-opening and empowering read. I’ve already reviewed this for the blog tour so you can read my thoughts here if you’d like to.

SweetPea by C.J. Skuse

This is such a brilliant and unique book and I loved it. Rhiannon is such a great character! I highly recommend this book. I’ve reviewed SweetPea this week so you can read that here if you want to know more.

This week I’ve blogged seven times:

Sunday: Weekly Wrap-Up (9 April)

Monday: Review of Deconstructing Dirty Dancing by Stephen Lee Naish

Wednesday: WWW Wednesday

                        Review of The Cows by Dawn O’Porter for the Blog Tour

Thursday: Review of SweetPea by C.J. Skuse

Friday: Review of Swimming Lessons by Claire Fuller 

Saturday: Stacking the Shelves

This is what I’m currently reading:

Titanic Lives by Richard Davenport-Hines

I’ve just started listening to this on audio but am finding it interesting so far. At the moment it’s not been hugely focused on the Titanic but it has set the background scene to what happened really well.

The Comfort of Others by Kay Langdale

I received a copy of this in the post on Thursday and started reading it yesterday afternoon. It’s such a lovely novel and I’m very much enjoying it.

He Said/She Said by Erin Kelly

I’ve not managed to read many print or ebooks this week with not feeling great so I’ve not picked this up for a couple of days but from the few chapters I read earlier in the week I am so keen to get back to this book to see what happens. It’s so good!

What I Talk about when I Talk about Running by Haruki Murakami

This is my other current audio book and I’m really enjoying it. There is so much in this book about writing, and about how he came to be a runner and how the two things are linked for him. I’m getting so much out of this book and highly recommend it.

This Love by Dani Atkins

This is a gorgeous book that I’m absolutely loving. I had to put it down for a few days as I’ve been struggling to hold print books this week but I can’t wait to get back to it.

How to Survive a Plague by David France

This book is fascinating. It’s such a moving and powerful book about what happened during the Aids crisis in the 80s. It reminds me of Randy Schilts’ book And the Band Played On. I definitely recommend this book.

the-state-of-my-2

Update on my TBR…  

TBR at the start of January 2017: 1885 (see my State of the TBR post)

TBR in last week’s Wrap-Up: 1914

Additions:

Books bought/received for review/gifts: 12

Subtractions:

Books read this week: 5

Books I’m currently reading: 6

TBR Books culled this week: 2

Total:

TBR now stands at: 1929

I have a confession this week about the state of my TBR… the numbers won’t add up properly today because I discovered that I had a few audiobooks and a few books on my Kobo app from a while ago that I hadn’t ever added to my Goodreads and so hadn’t been counted in my TBR. These amounted to 16 books. Oops! So I have 1929 books on my TBR now and that is accurate it’s just that the sum won’t add up properly because of my error.

 

 

I’m linking this post up to Kimberly at Caffeinated Book Reviewer’s Sunday Blog Share.  It’s a chance to share news~ A post to recap the past week on your blog and showcase books and things we have received. Share news about what is coming up on our blog for the week ahead.

 

How has your week been? What have you been reading? Please share in the comments below. If you write a wrap-up on your blog please feel free to share the link. 🙂

Weekly Wrap-Up (9 April)

Posted on by

Weekly Wrap up SQUARE copyrighted

This week I’ve had a quiet week due to not feeling well so I don’t really have anything news to share on here. So on with the books and stuff…

This week I’ve finished reading 3 books:

Good as Gone by Amy Gentry

I read this book in one sitting last week and very much enjoyed it. It was a gripping read and I recommend it. I reviewed it for the blog tour yesterday so you can read my review here if you’d like to.

Deconstructing Dirty Dancing by Stephen Lee Naish

I wasn’t sure about reading this but I decided to give it a go. It was fairly enjoyable but I’m not sure it’s what I thought it was going to be. I’m planning to review this soon so look out for that.

One of Us by Asne Seierstad

I was struggling to read this book so I bought the audio book this week and found it worked better for me on audio. It’s a really tough subject matter but very well-written. I’m possibly going to write a review on it if I can get my thoughts together.

This week I’ve blogged six times:

Sunday: Weekly Wrap-Up

Monday: March Wrap-Up 

Tuesday: A guest post by author Lynda Renham on changing genre for her new novel, Remember Me

Wednesday: WWW Wednesday post

Saturday: Stacking the Shelves post

                   Review of Good as Gone by Amy Gentry

 

This is what I’m currently reading:

How to Survive a Plague by David France

I started reading this a couple of days ago and am finding it fascinating. It’s a long book so I think it’ll be one I’m reading on and off for a little while but I know it’s going to be a book I get a lot out of.

The Cows by Dawn O’Porter

I’m absolutely loving this book. I’ve very nearly finished it and will really miss it once I have finished it. I’m on the blog tour for this book this week so look out for my review on the 12 April as part of the tour.

Sweet Pea by C.J. Skuse

I finally had the strength in my hands to pick this back up yesterday and I’ve been engrossed in it for much of the weekend so far. It’s such a good read, I recommend it.

The Power by Naomi Alderman

This is my current audio book and I’m not too far off finishing this one either. I love the concept of the novel and I’m enjoying it but it’s not keeping me hooked as much as I thought it would.

 

the-state-of-my-2

Update on my TBR…  

TBR at the start of January 2017: 1885 (see my State of the TBR post)

TBR in last week’s Wrap-Up: 1913

Additions:

Books bought/received for review/gifts: 5

Subtractions:

Books read this week: 3

Books I’m currently reading: 4

TBR Books culled this week: 10

Total:

TBR now stands at: 1914

Weekly Wrap-Up (2 April)

Posted on by

Weekly Wrap up SQUARE copyrighted

This week has been a bit rubbish if I’m honest. The effects of reducing my pain meds have really kicked in and I just feel horrid a lot of the time. I was meant to be going to a gig in the week with my husband, and we’d had the tickets for ages, but there was no way I was going to manage it. We stayed in and treated ourselves to a takeaway instead, which was lovely but I still wish we could have gone out.

I’ve barely managed to read anything all week – the two books I have finished are the ones I managed to pick up again just yesterday and were books I’ve been reading on and off for a little while now.

I’m going to be starting a new treatment soon, which is more experimental, but I’m going into it with a positive mindset and am hoping that it helps me.

This week I’ve finished reading two books:

First Love by Gwendoline Riley

I found this to be such a compelling read, it really drew me in. Some of the things that happen hit a nerve with me but it’s so well written that even then I didn’t want to stop reading. I love books that make me uncomfortable but still have me under their spell, and this one was definitely one of those. I definitely recommend this.

Hillsborough Untold by Norman Bettison

I didn’t notice who this book was by when it arrived so it was only when I started reading this that I realised. I wouldn’t have picked this up had I have known but once I had the book I was intrigued to know what he had to say. I do think it’s important to hear all sides but in this case, when the police have been held responsible after so many years, it does feel like there’s nothing more to be heard from them that can add anything. Having said that, I do think it’s wrong that officers can take early retirement in order to get out of facing an investigation into their alleged wrong-doing, and that, because the other officers involved did this, Bettison bore more of the criticism in his career. I wouldn’t recommend this.

This week I’ve blogged seven times:

Sunday: Weekly Wrap-Up post

Monday: Review of Goodbye Days by Jeff Zentner

Tuesday: Review of The Best We Could Do by Thi Bui

Wednesday: WWW Wednesday post

Thursday: A guest post by Mark Stewart, author of The Absence of Wings, all about how he speaks up for the voiceless in his short story collection

Friday: Review of The Trophy Child by Paula Daly

Saturday: Stacking the Shelves post

 

This is what I’m currently reading:

Good as Gone by Amy Gentry

I just started this book last night and it’s got me hooked already so I reckon, concentration span permitting, that this may be one of those books that I finish in one sitting!

Deconstructing Dirty Dancing by Stephen Lee Naish

This is a really interesting look at the film Dirty Dancing and what the backdrop to the film was in terms of politics of the time it was made, and the time it was set. It’s a short book so I hope to be able to finish it this week.

The Cows by Dawn O’Porter

This is a brilliant novel, I’m really enjoying it. I actually missed this book when I had a few days of not being well enough to read this week so I’m really looking forward to picking it up again.

Sweet Pea by C.J. Skuse

This is such a great read. I’ll be honest and say that I haven’t managed to read anymore of it this week due to lack of concentration but also due to horrible lack of dexterity in my hands meaning print books aren’t the easiest to read at the moment. I’m so keen to see where this story is going though so hopefully I’ll be able to get back to it this week.

One of Us by Asne Serierstad

I’ve managed to read a bit more of this over the last week and am really hoping that my brain power will be back to full(ish) strength soon so that I can finish this book. It’s such an interesting book but I wish I could have managed to read it in fewer sittings.

 

the-state-of-my-2

Update on my TBR… 

TBR at the start of January 2017: 1885 (see my State of the TBR post)

TBR in last week’s Wrap-Up: 1895

Additions:

Books bought/received for review/gifts:  23

Subtractions:

Books read this week: 2

Books I’m currently reading: 5

TBR Books culled this week: 0

Total:

TBR now stands at: 1913

 

 

I’m linking this post up to Kimberly at Caffeinated Book Reviewer’s Sunday Blog Share.  It’s a chance to share news~ A post to recap the past week on your blog and showcase books and things we have received. Share news about what is coming up on our blog for the week ahead.

 

 

How has your week been? What have you been reading? Please share in the comments below. If you write a wrap-up on your blog please feel free to share the link. I’ll be posting my monthly wrap-up for March on here tomorrow so please look out for that! 🙂

Weekly Wrap-Up (26 March)

Posted on by

Weekly Wrap up SQUARE copyrighted

This week I’ve not done much as I’m physically struggling with the adjustments to my pain medication. I’ve been in need of distraction so have been trying to get some long-overdue reviews posted on my blog, and also have been reading and listening to books.

This week I’ve finished reading five books:

Portrait of Bowie by Brian Hiatt

This is a lovely book and I really enjoyed reading all the stories from various people who knew David Bowie. The photos are great too. I’d recommend this to David Bowie fans.

Goodbye Days by Jeff Zentner

I just finished reading this yesterday and found it such a moving novel. I’ve already written my review so that’ll be up on my blog tomorrow if you’d like to read it.

Now We Are 40 by Tiffanie Darke

I really enjoyed reading this book – it really does bring back so many memories from the 90s. Some great memories and some not so good but it is a journey on how we, as a society, got from there to here. I’d definitely recommend this book to anyone who is around the age of 40.

The Sellout by Paul Beatty

I listened to the audio of this book and very much enjoyed it. The narrater was great and I found the book easy to listen to. It’s a novel that really gives you a lot to think about though – every time I stopped the book I found I was thinking about all of the issues and ideas that I’d just been reading about. I can see why this book won the Man Booker last year, and I would absolutely recommend reading it if you haven’t already.

Six Stories by Matt Wesolowski

This book is so refreshing to read because it’s such a modern concept – a novel told in a series of podcasts! I enjoyed it and will be looking out to see what the author writes next.

This week I’ve blogged six times:

Sunday: Weekly Wrap-Up

Monday: Review of Year of No Clutter by Eve O. Schaub

Tuesday: Review of The Cutaway by Christina Kovac

Wednesday: WWW Wednesdays

Friday: Review of The Breakdown by B.A. Paris

Saturday: Stacking the Shelves

 

This is what I’m currently reading:

The Power by Naomi Alderman

This is my current audio book and I’m really enjoying it. I’ve had the book on my TBR since the end of last year and now I’m kicking myself for not picking it up sooner because it’s so good. It’s an interesting premise for a novel and has a very strong message throughout.

Sweet Pea by C.J. Skuse

This is such a good read – if it wasn’t such a big paperback I’m sure I’d have read it in one or two sittings but I’m just physically struggling to hold it at the moment. I do keep thinking about it when I’m not reading and when I do manage to read some of it, it feels like a treat. The black humour running through this novel is brilliant.

One of Us by Asne Seierstad

I’ve managed to read a few more chapters of this week and am hoping to be able to finish it this week. It’s such a fascinating and horrifying book, the only reason I’ve not read it sooner is because I’ve not had the concentration for heavier non-fiction in recent weeks. I’d absolutely recommend this though.

 

the-state-of-my-2

Update on my TBR…

TBR at the start of January 2017: 1885 (see my State of the TBR post)

TBR in last week’s Wrap-Up: 1882

Additions:

Books bought/received for review/gifts: 15 

Subtractions:

Books read this week: 5

Books I’m currently reading: 3

TBR Books culled this week: 0

Total:

TBR now stands at: 1895

 

 

I’m linking this post up to Kimberly at Caffeinated Book Reviewer’s Sunday Blog Share.  It’s a chance to share news~ A post to recap the past week on your blog and showcase books and things we have received. Share news about what is coming up on our blog for the week ahead.

 

 

How has your week been? What have you been reading? Please share in the comments below. If you write a wrap-up on your blog please feel free to share the link. 🙂

Weekly Wrap-Up (19 March)

Posted on by

Weekly Wrap up SQUARE copyrighted

This week has been a bit of rough week. I’ve reduced my pain meds again and it’s left me feeling really unwell at times. This is going to be par for the course on and off for the next couple of months so I just need to get on with it as best as I can.

I did cheer myself up with an online book buying splurge as I still had my birthday book vouchers so that was lovely. I shared what I got in my Stacking the Shelves post yesterday if you’d like to see that.

This week I’ve finished reading five books:

The Cutaway by Christina Kovac

This is such a good read. It’s a crime thriller but the focus is on the newsroom, and how they report a crime, the way they get information, and also how easily a reporter can become obsessed with a case. It’s not a fast-paced, twisty novel so far but it does grip you from the the opening chapter. I highly recommend this one. I’ll be writing my review of this one soon.

Not Dead Yet by Phil Collins

This is the audio book I’ve been listening to with my husband over the last month. I’m not really a Phil Collins fan but I found myself really enjoying this book. The first half was better than the second half for me. I enjoyed hearing about how his career got started, and about the people he worked with etc, and hearing what was going on behind the scenes at Live Aid was very amusing, but I didn’t like the way he was so dismissive of how his treatment of each of his wives affected them. I know we all paint ourselves in our best light but it’s hard to listen to someone have seemingly no awareness of how he made other people feel. Aside from that aspect of the book, Phil Collins shared some great stories that did make us laugh, or caused a few raised eyebrows so I would recommend this to fans of his, but be ready to grit your teeth when he talks about his various relationships with women.

Year of No Clutter by Eve Schaub

I struggled to get into this book but I’m glad I persevered. I found that as the book went on I could identify with a lot of how Eve felt about her clutter, and the reasons why she had let it build up. I’ll be reviewing this on my blog soon.

The Trophy Child by Paula Daly

I’m a big fan of Paula Daly’s novels so was very excited to read this one. It kept me engrossed all the way through but I’m still unsure how to rate it. I read an ARC so I will be reviewing it as soon as I’ve got my thoughts in order.

Little Deaths by Emma Flint

This is also a review book and I’ve had it on my TBR for a little while now but I’m annoyed with myself for being so slow to pick it up as I loved it. It grabbed me from the opening and I’m still thinking about it now, days after I finished reading. I hope to get my review finished and posted on my blog soon.

 

This week I’ve blogged six times:

Sunday: Weekly Wrap-Up

Monday: Review of It’s All Absolutely Fine by Ruby Elliot

Wednesday: WWW Wednesday

Thursday: Review of The Last Act of Hattie Hoffman by Mindy Mejia

Friday: Review of Sometimes I Lie by Alice Feeney

Saturday: Stacking the Shelves

 

This is what I’m currently reading:

Six Stories by Matt Wesolowski

I’ve only read the first few pages of this novel so far but I can tell it’s going to be one that I won’t be able to put down once I pick it up again!

The Sellout by Paul Beatty

This is my current audio book and I’m really enjoying it. It’s such a clever book that really gives you a lot to think about, whilst remaining easy to read and enjoyable.

Now We Are 40 by Tiffanie Darke

This is such a good read. The first few chapters bring back memories of the 90s, with talk of pre-internet/mobile phone, the fashion, the music, the obsession we all had with The Body Shop (I loved Dewberry body spray from there!). Then the book discusses the internet boom and the impact it had on the creative industries, and on women. I’d definitely recommend this to Generation X-ers!

 

Goodbye Days by Jeff Zentner

I’m enjoying this book but it’s suffering from me being in the middle of it but not really in the mood to read it. I hope to get back to it in the next few days.

A Portrait of Bowie by Brian Hiatt

This is a lovely book to dip in and out of as it’s a collaborative book featuring people who knew David Bowie, and it has some great photos in it too.

One of Us by Asne Seierstad

I’m still struggling to read serious non-fiction so I haven’t read much of this over the last week. Hopefully, if I feel a bit better this week I’ll be able to read more of it. It’s a great read, it’s just bad timing for me to be reading it right now.

 

the-state-of-my-2

Update on my TBR… 

TBR at the start of January 2017: 1885 (see my State of the TBR post)

TBR in last week’s Wrap-Up: 1871

Additions:

Books bought/received for review/gifts: 16 

Subtractions:

Books read this week: 5

Books I’m currently reading: 6

TBR Books culled this week: 0

Total:

TBR now stands at: 1882

 

I’m linking this post up to Kimberly at Caffeinated Book Reviewer’s Sunday Blog Share.  It’s a chance to share news~ A post to recap the past week on your blog and showcase books and things we have received. Share news about what is coming up on our blog for the week ahead.

 

How has your week been? What have you been reading? Please share in the comments below. If you write a wrap-up on your blog please feel free to share the link. 🙂

Weekly Wrap-Up (12 March)

Posted on by

 

Weekly Wrap up SQUARE copyrighted

This week has been a better week than last. I had a bad weekend last weekend coping with medication changes but once my body adjusted the last few days have been okay.

IMG_8479

On Tuesday I went to the cinema with my husband to watch Ziggy Stardust and the Spiders from Mars and it was brilliant. First, they showed a new interview with Woody Woodmansey about his time in the Spiders and his new book (which I’ve read and reviewed so you can read that here if you’d like to). Then they showed the whole concert from 1973. We also got given a souvenir edition of Mojo magazine with Bowie on the cover. I suffered with higher pain levels for a couple of days afterwards but it was absolutely worth it. (photo is pinched from my husband’s instagram: StaticVinyl because he takes much better photos than me!)

This week I’ve finished reading eight books:

(Some of these books I’ve been reading on and off for a few weeks so whilst I finished eight books this week, I haven’t actually read eight books in full over the last seven days)

And the Sun Shines Now by Adrian Tempany

I’ve been reading this book for the last month and have found it really interesting for the most part. A couple of chapters held less interest for me than others but generally this was a very good book about football and the politics surrounding it. I’d recommend it to all football fans.

The Best We could Do by Thi Bui

This is a graphic memoir, which is fascinating and heartbreaking. I got this for review so will try and have a full review up soon. It’s one I recommend though.

Sometimes I Lie by Alice Feeney

This book grabbed hold of me and didn’t let go – I literally read it in one sitting and was engrossed the whole way through. I’ll be reviewing this one soon.

Days Without End by Sebastian Barry

This book has been on my currently reading for a few weeks as I was struggling to hold the hardback copy to read it. I had a fairly good afternoon one day this week so I picked it up and I was captivated by the novel. I completely and utterly fell in love with this story and know it will be one that stays with me for a very long time.

The Last Act of Hattie Hoffman by Mindy Mejia

This is another book at I devoured. I read it in two sittings and loved it. I’m on the blog tour for this book next week (16 March) so will be sharing my review then.

Apple Tree Yard by Louise Doughty

I bought this book when it first came out and I couldn’t get into it so put it to one side. I’d heard good things about it though so I didn’t get rid of my copy. It’s recently been adapted for TV in the UK and the adverts for it re-ignited my interest in the book. I picked this up late one morning this week and I literally lost half a day to the book – I did nothing from when I picked it up to when I finished it. It just hooked me from the start. I’m so pleased that I gave this book another chance. I can only assume that when I picked it up the first time that it was just the wrong time for me because this was absolutely a 5 star read!

The Little Shop of Happy-Ever-After by Jenny Colgan

This was my audio book for the last couple of weeks and I adored it. It’s such a gorgeous story about a mobile book shop and is perfect when you need a bit of escapism.

Willow Walk by SJI Holliday

This is the second book in the Banktoun trilogy and I read this in one sitting. It grabbed me with the opening and I simply had to know what had happened. I have the third book, The Damselfly, on my TBR and I don’t think it’ll be too long before I read that one.

This week I’ve blogged five times:

Sunday: Weekly Wrap-Up

Monday: Review of The Escape by C.L. Taylor

Wednesday: WWW Wednesdays

Friday: Review of The Roanoke Girls by Amy Engel

Saturday: Stacking the Shelves

 

This is what I’m currently reading:

Now We Are 40 by Tiffanie Darke

I haven’t hauled this book yet as I got it yesterday after my Stacking the Shelves was posted. I’m loving it though – I’m not quite 40 yet but this is my generation and all the music and cultural references are bringing back so many memories. I don’t think I’ll be long in finishing this book.

The Cutaway by Christina Kovac

I started this late last night and found it really captured my attention straight away. It seems like it’ll be a slow-burn but it’s intriguing from the off so I’m keen to get back to it.

Little Deaths by Emma Flint

I’ve had this on my TBR pile since the end of last year and I’m so glad to finally be getting around to it. I’m only about a quarter of the way through it so far but it’s got me hooked and I really want to know how it’s all going to turn out.

Portrait of Bowie by Brian Hiatt

I picked this up after we watched the Ziggy Stardust and the Spiders from Mars concert as I was in the mood to read something about David Bowie. This is a lovely book, with some really nice photos of him, all written by people who knew him. I’m really enjoying reading this.

Goodbye Days by Jeff Zentner

I got approved for this on NetGalley and decided to pick it up straight away. It’s not exactly what I thought it was going to be, and I’m struggling to really get into it a little but I’ve seen good reviews so I’m going to keep going and hope it improves soon.

Year of No Clutter by Eve Schaub

I haven’t picked this up for a few days and I’m not sure why. I enjoyed what I read initially but it’s just not calling me back to it. I will read more of it soon though as I do like a book about clutter.

One of Us by Asne Seierstad

This is still a fascinating book – I’ve struggled a bit with heavier non-fiction this week so I’ve not read as much of this as I’d have liked to but I’ll definitely be getting back to this soon.

Not Dead Yet by Phil Collins

This is the audio book that I’m listening to with my husband and we’ve not had much chance to listen this week but we’re both really enjoying it so will be getting back to it as soon as we have the time.

 

 the-state-of-my-2

Update on my TBR…

TBR at the start of January 2017: 1885 (see my State of the TBR post)

TBR in last week’s Wrap-Up: 1870

Additions:

Books bought/received for review/gifts: 7 (See the books I added this week in my Stacking the Shelves post)

Subtractions:

Books read this week: 8

Books I’m currently reading: 8

TBR Books culled this week: 0

Total:

TBR now stands at: 1871

 

I’m linking this post up to Kimberly at Caffeinated Book Reviewer’s Sunday Blog Share.  It’s a chance to share news~ A post to recap the past week on your blog and showcase books and things we have received. Share news about what is coming up on our blog for the week ahead.

 

 

How has your week been? What have you been reading? Please share in the comments below. If you write a wrap-up on your blog please feel free to share the link. 🙂

 

Weekly Wrap-Up (5 March)

Posted on by

Weekly Wrap up SQUARE copyrighted

This week has been an up and down week for me. I had a phone appointment with my neurosurgeon mid-week and I was told that there is no chance at all of me making any recovery from the damage to my spinal cord. It’s very hard to hear, even when you were expecting it. I’m trying to focus on the positives though and am thankful that at the moment my condition is relatively stable – the symptoms fluctuate but my neck is currently stable.

I’m working on pain management at the moment and it’s really hard but I’m determined to make my life as good as I possibly can in the circumstances. The next couple of months are going to be really tough with all the changes to my medication but I believe it’ll be worth it in the long run.

In better news I managed to write and post a review on my blog this week – the first one in weeks – so that felt like an achievement. I’ve got such a backlog of reviews to either write, edit or schedule so I’m hoping that I’ll be able to get those posted very soon.

This week I’ve finished reading six books:

The Escape by C. L. Taylor

I’m going to be writing a full review of this book soon but for now I’ll just say that I found it impossible to put down and I loved it!

Forever Yours by Daniel Glauttauer

I really struggled with the first third of this book and was close to giving up on it but because I loved his previous two books I wanted to give it one more chance so I picked it back up during an afternoon when I had plenty of time to read. I read the final part of this in one go and I enjoyed it. It’s not my favourite of his novels but it was a good read and I’m glad I finished it. I would recommend that anyone thinking of reading this that they should maybe try and read it in one go.

Scarlett Says by Scarlett Moffatt

This isn’t my normal type of read but I bought it on a whim in an audible daily deal recently and it seemed a nice, easy kind of  book to listen to when I was having a couple of really bad days this week. I think I’m too old to really enjoy this book but it was entertaining enough.

H is for Hawk by Helen Macdonald

This book is beautiful and I adored it. I knew the parts about Helen’s grief for her father would get to me but I didn’t expect to love the parts about her relationship with her hawk so much. I found it fascinating and very much enjoyed reading this book. I think it may well be one I read again in the future. I highly recommend reading this if you haven’t already.

Milk and Honey by Rupi Kaur

I’ve had this poetry book on my TBR since it first came out but it hadn’t caught my attention on my shelves since then. I spotted it again this week and I just really wanted to read it right away. The poems are very simply written but they still pack a real punch. I cried a few times whilst reading this collection and I bookmarked quite a few of the poems that I want to go back and read again. I really recommend this poetry collection.

Everything but the Truth by Gillian McAllister

I very much enjoyed this debut domestic noir and recommend pre-ordering it asap. I posted my review on Friday so you can read that here if you’d like to know more about the book and what I thought of it.

This week I’ve blogged five times:

Sunday: Weekly Wrap-Up

Wednesday: WWW Wednesday

Thursday: February Wrap-Up

Friday: Review of Everything but the Truth by Gillian McAllister

Saturday: Stacking the Shelves

 

This is what I’m currently reading:

Willow Walk by SJI Holliday

I recently read Black Wood, the first book in this trilogy, and enjoyed it so much that I knew I wanted to read the next book very soon. I picked this up last night and am already quite a way through it as it’s such an engrossing book. I’m really enjoying this one.

Year of No Clutter by Eve Schaub

I do love a book about de-cluttering so when I spotted this on NetGalley a little while ago I couldn’t resist requesting. I started reading it this week and am weirdly fascinated by it. I’m constantly working on de-cluttering as my natural tendency to keep things but even so I really struggle to understand how you can be happy with a room full of clutter knowing that your cat has peed all over the carpet and that there are dead mice in amongst your stuff. I’m really intrigued to see how this turns out and whether Eve ever managed to deal with her clutter.

The Little Shop of Happy-Ever-After by Jenny Colgan

I’m going through a rough patch at the moment so wanted an easy-listening audio book and this one caught my eye. It’s a gorgeous book about a woman starting up a mobile book shop and I’m very much enjoying it.

One of Us by Asne Seierstad

This book has been left to one side a bit this week as my head just hasn’t been in the right place to read it but I am keen to get back to it as soon as I can.

Not Dead Yet by Phil Collins

This is the audio book that I’m currently listening to with my husband and we’re both enjoying it. I’m not as much of a Phil Collins fan as my husband is but this book is still really interesting – Phil Collins has such great stories to tell and the fact that he narrated his memoir himself just adds to it.

And the Sun Shines Now by Adrian Tempany

This is another book that has been on the back burner a bit this week – I have read some of it but not much as my brain hasn’t been good at concentrating on non-fiction over the last few days. I definitely want to get back to this soon though as I was finding it fascinating.

Days Without End by Sebastian Barry

This book has also been neglected again this week as I just can’t manage to hold and read a hardback book. If I don’t manage to make progress with it this week I’m going to put it back on my bookcase to come back to at another time. The writing in this book is beautiful and I don’t want to spoil it for myself because I’m in pain whilst reading. I have loved what I’ve read so far though.

Update on my TBR…

TBR at the start of January 2017: 1885 (see my State of the TBR post)

TBR in last week’s Wrap-Up: 1862

Additions:

Books bought/received for review/gifts: 13 (See the books I added this week in my Stacking the Shelves post)

Subtractions:

Books read this week: 6

Books I’m currently reading: 7

TBR Books culled this week: 0

Total:

TBR now stands at: 1870

 

I’m linking this post up to Kimberly at Caffeinated Book Reviewer’s Sunday Blog Share.  It’s a chance to share news~ A post to recap the past week on your blog and showcase books and things we have received. Share news about what is coming up on our blog for the week ahead.

 

 

How has your week been? What have you been reading? Please share in the comments below. If you write a wrap-up on your blog please feel free to share the link. 🙂

Weekly Wrap-Up (19 Feb)

Posted on by

Weekly Wrap up SQUARE copyrighted

This week has been much improved from last week for the most part. I finally got a replacement Kindle Voyage sorted out under warranty and that arrived early in the week, which cheered me up. I’ve been reading a lot on my kindle this week as I was so happy to have my ereader back.

I had another spinal injection mid-week as part of a regime of trying to get my pain levels under better control. Unfortunately this injection has left me in a lot of pain – more than last time so I’m having to take things easy. I’m still hoping I will get the benefits I got last time once the initial pain has worn off. Fingers crossed!

My husband is on holiday from work this week so it’s been lovely having him home with me. We haven’t done a huge amount but it’s just nice having the time together.

 

This week I’ve finished reading six books:

Final Girls by Riley Sager

This book was one of those books that I just couldn’t put down once I started it. It was very gruesome in places and genuinely freaked me out (I was glad I wasn’t home alone whilst reading but I am a wimp!). I’ll be reviewing this book at some point soon so please look out for that.

The Child Who by Simon Lelic

This book has been a lesson to me in why I need to read more from my TBR as this has been on my Kindle unread for five years but when I started reading it this week I just got completely engrossed in the story. It’s a novel about a child murderer and how the solicitor defending him deals with the case. 

The Woman in Cabin 10 by Ruth Ware

I enjoyed this novel – it was fast-paced and kept me hooked right to the end. It wasn’t quite as good as I was hoping it would be but it was still an enjoyable read.

Watch Me by Angela Clarke

I loved Follow Me so was really looking forward to this follow up book and I wasn’t disappointed. It didn’t have me on the edge of my seat in the way Follow Me did, but it really got to me in a different way. I already can’t wait to see where this series takes the characters of Nad and Freddie next!

A Game for All the Family by Sophie Hannah

I’m going to be reviewing this novel as soon as I can so I won’t say too much here. I did find this novel completely and utterly engrossing all the way through and read it in two sittings over last weekend!

The Age of Bowie by Paul Morley

I’ve been reading this biography on and off for a few weeks now (due to me struggling to hold the book as it’s a heavy hardback) but have very much enjoyed every single page. I think this will be a book I re-read in the future, and it’s certainly one I’ll be putting on my favourites bookcase in my living room.

 

This week I’ve blogged three times:

Sunday: Weekly Wrap-Up where I share all of my bookish, blogging and real life news from the last week

Wednesday: WWW Wednesday where I share what I’m currently reading, what I’ve recently read and what I plan to read next

Saturday: Stacking the Shelves where I share my book haul from the last seven days – this week I had a splurge on a favourite publisher’s books as they had a sale on so it was a big book haul!

 

This is what I’m currently reading:

The Unseeing by Anna Mazzola

I started this book yesterday and it’s so good. I’m very intrigued by Sarah and really want to know how much she was involved in the murder and what, if anything, she’s hiding. 

Everything but the Truth by Gillian McAllister

I only started this book last night but I’m already really drawn into this plot and want to know what’s going on and whether Rachel’s suspicions are justified. I can’t wait to read more of this novel!

Blue Light Yokohama by Nicolas Obregon

This novel is a little different than I was expecting but it’s still really good. It seems to be a slow-paced novel, but the beautiful writing has me engrossed.

H is for Hawk by Helen MacDonald

I started listening to the audiobook version of this a couple of days ago and I’m loving it. I can’t believe I’ve waited so long to read it. The descriptions of grief have taken my breath away at times, the pain is palpable and I know how much it hurts. I knew this aspect of the book would grab me but I wasn’t expecting to love the story of the hawks quite as much as I do. I recommend this book to everyone.

Strange Weather in Tokyo by Hiromi Kawikama

I had to put this book on hold for a week with being kindle-less but now I have my kindle back I’m hoping I can get back into this novel as I was enjoying it.

And the Sun Shines Now by Adrian Tempany

This book is still really interesting and I’m enjoying reading it. Again, like the above book, I’ve not had much chance to read it over the last week or so with not having a kindle but I’m definitely going to get back into this very soon.

Days Without End by Sebastian Barry

This is such a beautiful novel – I think it may well become a new favourite of mine!

The Good Immigrant by Nikesh Shukla

The essays in this book are really eye-opening. I’m continuing to read one  essay and then put the book down so that I can mull over what I’ve just read. I definitely recommend this book though.

 

Update on my TBR…

TBR at the start of January 2017: 1885 (see my State of the TBR post)

TBR in last week’s Wrap-Up: 1900

Additions:

Books bought/received for review/gifts: 21 (See the books I added this week in my Stacking the Shelves post)

Subtractions:

Books read this week: 6

Books I’m currently reading: 8

TBR Books culled this week: 0

Total:

TBR now stands at: 1912

 

 

I’m linking this post up to Kimberly at Caffeinated Book Reviewer’s Sunday Blog Share.  It’s a chance to share news~ A post to recap the past week on your blog and showcase books and things we have received. Share news about what is coming up on our blog for the week ahead.

 

How has your week been? What have you been reading? Please share in the comments below. If you write a wrap-up on your blog please feel free to share the link. 🙂

Weekly Wrap-Up (12 Feb)

Posted on by

Weekly Wrap up SQUARE copyrighted

This week has been a bit of a stressful one at times. Last weekend was horrible  – both stressful and upsetting for me. Firstly there was a mix up over my pain medication, which was very worrying but eventually got sorted late in the evening on Friday. Then Saturday morning brought a stressful and upsetting letter, which couldn’t be dealt with until Monday so I spent the whole weekend feeling awful. It’s on the way to being sorted out now but it’s frustrating when you have to deal with the effects of companies being incompetent. The stress left me feeling really unwell for a few days so I had a quiet couple of days at the start of the week and tried to escape into some books. I haven’t managed to blog as much as I would have liked, or to read and share posts, but I’m trying to catch up now.

Then my Kindle Voyage died. I predominantly read on Kindle so I feel lost without it. I do have instant replacement warranty on it but the company aren’t replying to emails and Amazon are being very unhelpful. Luckily, I have my iPad so can read on the Kindle app  but it’s not so good on the eyes to read off a screen so I can’t read for long periods on it, plus my iPad is heavy for me to hold. All of my notes and highlights for recently read review books have been lost too so I’m going to have to try and write reviews from memory, which isn’t the best. I just hope I can get a replacement Kindle soon.

fb_icon_325x325

In better news, I’ve finally managed to regain access to my Facebook account. I still don’t know what happened with FB but I’m just glad it’s back up and running. If you want to like my page, you can find me here. Also, feel free to send me a friend request, my account is here.

unnamed

I also decided to join Instagram so I’m now sharing photos of what I’m up to and what I’m reading on there. You can find me here or search for me, I’m Rathertoofondofbooks on there.

 

This week I’ve finished reading eight books:

Just Kids by Patti Smith

This book was so beautiful, I loved it. It’s definitely a book that will stay with me and I’m sure I’ll re-read it in the future. 

F*cking Apostrophes by Simon Griffin

My husband bought this as a surprise to cheer me up this week and it was a perfect gift after a stressful week. The title alone made me giggle! I enjoyed reading this short book – it’s great for people who are pedantic about apostrophes but it’s also a great book for people who want to learn more about how to use apostrophes.

The Roanoke Girls by Amy Engel

This book really got under my skin and once I had an ebook copy I flew through it in one sitting, I honestly couldn’t put it down. I hope to get my review written and posted soon.

The Breakdown by B. A. Paris

I read this novel in one sitting – it’s such a fast-paced book that hooked me in from the opening pages and next thing I knew it was a few hours later and I’d finished it. I was sent this for review so hopefully I can get that written very soon.

Rage by Richard Bachman (Stephen King)

I have no idea where my copy of this book came from, I found it when I was sorting out my books but I’m pretty sure I didn’t buy it. I opened it to see what it was about and before I knew it I’d read the whole thing. It’s a book about a school shooting but it focuses more on the mindset of the killer than his actions.

Close Your Eyes, Hold Hands by Chris Bohjalian

I love Chris Bohjalian’s novels so was really looking forward to reading this one when I got it for my birthday. It was a good read, not my favourite by this author but still an enjoyable book.

The Secrets of Happiness by Lucy Diamond

I listened to the audio book of this earlier this week and really enjoyed it. It was the right book at the right time when I was feeling very stressed out. It was great escapism.

Last Night Montreal by Emily St. John Mandel

I very much enjoyed this novel. Like Station Eleven it has a lot of layering, and gradual adding to the depth of the story, and I loved it.

 

This week I’ve blogged three times:

Sunday: Weekly Wrap Up (5 Feb) post where I shared all of my blogging, reading and real life news from the previous week

Wednesday: WWW Wednesday post where I shared what I was currently reading, what I’d  recently finished reading and what I was hoping to read next

Saturday: Stacking the Shelves post where I shared all the books I’d added to my bookcases in the last seven days

 

This is what I’m currently reading:

A Game For All the Family by Sophie Hannah

I’ve had this book on my TBR since it was published so it’s great to finally be reading it. It’s such an engrossing read, and it has a modern-day Agatha Christie feel with the way the mystery is being set out. I can’t wait to find out how it all turns out in the end!

Watch Me by Angela Clarke

I really enjoyed the previous book in this series so was looking forward to this one coming out. I finally got to start reading it yesterday and it’s very good. It’s so fast-paced and has me hooked!

Strange Weather in Tokyo by Hiromi Kawakami

I bought this book on a whim last month as I loved the cover and the title. I’ve only read the first couple of chapters so far but I’m enjoying it and keen to see where it goes.

Days Without End by Sebastian Barry

This novel is beautifully written. I’m deliberately taking my time over this one as I want to savour everything about it. 

And The Sun Shines Now: How Hillsborough and the Premier League Changed Britain by Adrian Tempany

This book is a fascinating exploration of football since the 80s and how the political landscape of the time has had such an impact on how football has changed.

The Good Immigrant by Nikesh Shukla

This is a collection of essays and is such an important read. I’m reading it slowly so that I can give myself time to really think about each essay in turn.

The Age of Bowie by Paul Morley

I’m still reading this book and still very much enjoying it. 

Update on my TBR…

TBR at the start of January 2017: 1885 (see my State of the TBR post)

TBR in last week’s Wrap-Up: 1904

Additions:

Books bought/received for review/gifts: 16 (I did buy couple of audio versions of books I already owned so my TBR only increased by 13. See the books I added this week in my WWW Wednesday post)

Subtractions:

Books read this week: 8

Books I’m currently reading: 7

TBR Books culled this week: 2

Total:

TBR now stands at: 1900

 

 

I’m linking this post up to Kimberly at Caffeinated Book Reviewer’s Sunday Blog Share.  It’s a chance to share news~ A post to recap the past week on your blog and showcase books and things we have received. Share news about what is coming up on our blog for the week ahead.

 

How has your week been? What have you been reading? Please share in the comments below. If you write a wrap-up on your blog please feel free to share the link. 🙂

Weekly Wrap-Up (5 Feb)

Posted on by

Weekly Wrap up SQUARE copyrighted

I don’t have much news from this week, it’s been quite a quiet week really. I’ve been slowly carrying on with my decluttering and have filled another three huge bin bags with either things for the charity shop, or rubbish. I’m still feeling ruthless so will be carrying on with the decluttering for a while yet! I need to get around to clearing some shelf space as currently all the lovely books I got for my birthday are in a box as there is literally no space to put them on any of my bookcases or shelves! Eeeek!

This week I’ve finished reading three books:

The Rosie Project by Graeme Simsion

I had the ebook of this on my TBR for ages but just never got around to it so when I spotted it on an Audible deal recently I snapped it up. I’ve listened to it over the course of a couple of days and it was ok. I think the book has been so hyped for so long that it was going to be a huge ask for it to live up to. It was enjoyable enough but I was a bit disappointed.

The Luminaries by Eleanor Catton

I love love love this book! It was close to 900 pages long and I’ve read it over the last ten days or so – I couldn’t stop thinking about it when I wasn’t reading it, and now I’ve finished it I really miss it. It made me remember how much I used to adore reading big books and I’m definitely going to make more effort to read longer books. I highly recommend this book if you haven’t read it yet.

Well-Read Women by Samantha Hahn

This is a book I got for my birthday and I adore it. It’s such a beautiful book and whilst it’s only 112 pages and is predominantly paintings I’ve added it as a read book here because I literally spent a few hours looking at the paintings and reading the quotes. This is a fabulous book for a book lover – I’m definitely going to be buying copies as gifts in the future.

This week I’ve blogged five times:

Sunday: Weekly Wrap-Up (29 Jan) where I shared all my book, blogging and real life news from the previous week.

Wednesday: WWW Wednesday (1 Feb) where I shared what I was currently reading, what I’d recently read and what I was hoping to read next.

Thursday: January Wrap-Up where I wrapped up the first month of 2017, sharing all the books I’d read, links to all my reviews and blog posts, and how my plan to reduce my TBR was going.

Friday: My Birthday Book Haul where I shared my huge haul of books that I was lucky enough to receive for my birthday last weekend.

Saturday: Stacking the Shelves where I wrote about the books I bought myself or received for review over the last seven days.

 

This is what I’m currently reading:

Books for Living by Will Schwalbe

I completely and utterly fell in love with Will Schwalbe’s previous book so I’ve been really keen to read this one. So far the book is wonderful but unfortunately my copy is from NetGalley and the formatting is making it very hard for me to read. I’m considering putting it to one side for now and buying my own copy to read. 

The Good Immigrant ed. by Nikesh Shukla 

This is a book that I’ve been wanting to read for ages so when I spotted it for the bargain price of £2.99 on Kindle this week I snapped it up. I’ve read the first four essays so far and it’s a very thought-provoking read. I want to read this slowly and give myself time to really think about what’s being said so I’m reading an essay or two each day. I definitely recommend it though. 

Last Night in Montreal by Emily St. John Mandel

When I started reading this it seemed very different from Station Eleven (which I read a few years ago and completely adored) but as I get further into it and more and more layers are peeled back it’s really clear how the author got from here to there. I’m really enjoying this book.

Close Your Eyes, Hold Hands by Chris Bohjalian

This book, like the two below, is a really enjoyable novel but my reading of it is being hampered by my struggles with holding a physical book at the moment. The novel itself is really engaging though and I would recommend it.

The Roanoke Girls by Amy Engel

This is a really heavy , stiff paperback book to hold so I’m struggling to hold it open to read. I’m enjoying the story but may have to give up on this one until I can get hold of an ebook version.

The Age of Bowie by Paul Morley

I’m still enjoying this book but the format is slowing my reading down. My husband is thinking of getting the audio book version as I’ve been recommending the book to him ever since I started reading it so I may well end up listening to it with him.

 

Update on my TBR…

TBR at the start of January 2017: 1885 (see my State of the TBR post)

TBR in last week’s Weekly Wrap-Up: 1889

Books bought/received for review: 12

TBR Books culled this week: 0

TBR now stands at: 1904

I really hope to at least get my TBR back under 1900 this month – ideally by reading lots of my own books and not accumulating more, but I do need to do a cull at some point too to make room for my birthday books.

 

SundayBlogShare

I’m linking this post up to Kimberly at Caffeinated Book Reviewer’s Sunday Blog Share.  It’s a chance to share news~ A post to recap the past week on your blog and showcase books and things we have received. Share news about what is coming up on our blog for the week ahead.

 

How has your week been? What have you been reading? Please share in the comments below. If you write a wrap-up on your blog please feel free to share the link. 🙂

Weekly Wrap-Up (29 Jan)

Posted on by

Weekly Wrap up SQUARE copyrighted

This is my birthday weekend and by pure chance my husband has the weekend off so it’s been lovely spending time with him. He spoilt me with lots of new books, which I will either post pics of in a book haul this week or in my Stacking the Shelves post on Saturday. I did know about some of the books but some were surprises so it was a nice mix. He also had a beautiful bouquet of flowers delivered, which was lovely.

We celebrated my birthday with a takeaway as I wasn’t well enough to go out but that was still really lovely. I want to see the new Trainspotting film but the cinema is really difficult for me to manage but I’m hoping we can see it in the next week or so as a belated birthday treat.

I’ve been slowly de-cluttering my house again since the beginning of the year, having been inspired by reading Unf*ck Your Life by Rachel Hoffman. Yesterday my husband took ten full bin bags of clothes, shoes, handbags and books to the charity shop for me. It feels really good to have got rid of so much, and I still have more sorting out to do so I expect there to be more for the charity shop soon. I’ve been listening to audiobooks whilst decluttering so I’m still getting lots of reading done.

 

This week I’ve finished reading five books:

The Keeper of Lost Things by Ruth Hogan

This book is wonderful, I adored every single second I spent reading it. I’ll be writing my review of this soon and hope to have it up on my blog in the next week or so.

Ready Player One by Ernest Cline

I can’t believe I thought this book wouldn’t be for me for such a long time purely because I’m not a gamer. I’m so glad I gave it a chance, it’s such a good read. I especially loved all of the 80s references and was on the edge of my seat as the quest reached it’s final stage! This wasn’t an ARC but I may still review it on my blog if I get time.

The Girl Before by JP Delaney

I enjoyed this thriller for the most part but it did take a turn that I thought was gimmicky and it took away from my enjoyment a little. I reviewed this book on my blog last week and you can read that here if you’d like to.

The Book of Strange New Things by Michel Faber

This book has been on my TBR since it was first published but the length of it it put me off picking it up. I’m so pleased that I finally got to it as it was a brilliant read. I still keep thinking about it and highly recommend it.

Rattle by Fiona Cummins

This is a brilliantly creepy and sinister read. I almost didn’t pick it up as I’m easily scared but the great writing in this book over-rode my fear factor and I couldn’t put it down. I reviewed it last week so you can read my thoughts here if you’d like to.

 

This week I’ve blogged six times:

(Click the links next to the day of the week if you’d like to read the posts)

Sunday: Weekly Wrap- Up

Monday: Review of Loving the Life Less Lived by Gail Marie Mitchell

Tuesday: Review of Rattle by Fiona Cummins

Wednesday: WWW Wednesday

Friday: Review of The Girl Before by JP Delaney

Saturday: Stacking the Shelves

 

This is what I’m currently reading:

Close Your Eyes, Hold Hands by Chris Bohjalian

I haven’t hauled this book yet as it was one of my birthday gifts but I immediately started reading it so wanted to add it in to this post. I’m only a couple of chapters in so far but I’m enjoying it. I’m a big fan of Chris Bohjalian’s novels so was very excited to receive this surprise gift.

The Luminaries by Eleanor Catton

This book has been on my TBR for ages but I always put off picking it up because it’s huge! This year I’m trying to read as many books off my TBR as I can to reduce it but I wanted to make sure that I factor in reading the books that have been on my TBR for a really long time. I’m very much enjoying this novel, I’m about a third of the way through it and it’s keeping me hooked. 

The Roanoke Girls by Amy Engel

I’ve been slow getting to read this book as it’s a print book and I’ve had a bad week so it’s been a struggle to hold print books. I am enjoying this novel though and now I’m feeling a bit better I hope to read this book in full over the next couple of days.

The Age of Bowie by Paul Morley

I’m still very much enjoying this book. It’s taking me a while purely because it’s a big, heavy hardback and it’s a struggle for me to hold it and turn the pages at times. It’s a great biography  though and I recommend I highly recommend it.

 

Update on my TBR…

TBR at the start of January 2017: 1885 (see my State of the TBR post)

TBR in last week’s Weekly Wrap-Up: 1880

Books bought/received for review: 8

Birthday books added 28 Jan: 21

TBR Books culled this week: 4

TBR now stands at: 1899

Weekly Wrap-Up (22 Jan)

Posted on by

Weekly Wrap up SQUARE copyrighted

This week I’ve been trying to keep my mind occupied so have been reading lots of books and have blogged every day. It’s the anniversary of my mum’s death this weekend and I always find January a month that drags me down as a result. I always make a conscious effort to keep myself busy as much as I can. It’s not easy because I still miss her so much but dwelling on pain and sadness doesn’t help.

Yesterday I managed to get out for the first time this year, in fact the first time in a month so that was nice. We spent an hour (unsuccessfully) shopping for a shed and then got a Subway on the way home. These days I value any time I manage to spend out of the house so I really enjoyed it. It was a lovely sunny day, which is always nice.

This week I’ve finished reading six books:

Hold Your Own by Kate Tempest

This is a fairly short poetry collection. I’ve not read much poetry at all over the last couple of years and reading this collection reminded me how much I used to love it. I’m definitely going to try and read some more poetry this year.

Howards End is on the Landing: A Year of Reading from Home by Susan Hill

I’ve been dipping in and out of this book for the last week or two and have very much enjoyed it. It’s inspired me to try and keep focused on the books I already own rather than constantly looking to acquire more. It’s also made me consider the books I do own and whether I still want to read them as much as I did when I bought them or whether the moment has passed.

The One Memory of Flora Banks by Emily Barr (review ebook)

I really enjoyed this YA book and plan to review it soon, hopefully this week sometime.

Loving the Life Less Lived by Gail Marie Mitchell (review book)

This is a non-fiction book that I was sent for review. I’m on the blog tour for this book tomorrow so please look out for my review then if you’d like to know more.

The Poisonwood Bible by Barbara Kingsolver

I can’t believe this book languished on my TBR in various formats since it was first published almost twenty years ago. It’s been a lesson in not leaving books for so long as from the very first few pages of this book I was hooked and I loved reading it.

Her Every Fear by Peter Swanson (review ebook)

This is a review book that I finished reading on Monday and I’ve already reviewed it. You can read my review here if you’d like to. I very much enjoyed this novel though, it really unnerved me and I loved that about it.

This week I’ve blogged seven times:

Sunday: Weekly Wrap-Up (15 Jan)

Monday: Review of Lies by TM Logan

Tuesday: Review of Relativity by Antonia Hayes

Wednesday: WWW Wednesday (18 Jan)

Thursday: Review of Her Every Fear by Peter Swanson

Friday: Review of While You Were Sleeping by Kathryn Croft

Saturday: Stacking the Shelves (21 Jan)

This is what I’m currently reading:

Rattle by Fiona Cummins (review ebook)

I deliberately kept this book to read over this weekend whilst my husband would be home as from what I’ve heard about it I knew it was likely to really scare me. So far it’s just quite creepy but the tension is beginning to ramp up. I hope to finish this today but it depends how scary it gets and whether I need a break at any point !

The Roanoke Girls by Amy Engel (review book)

This review book was sent to me as a total surprise and I was very happy to receive it. I’ve only read the first three chapters so far but I’m enjoying it. It’s not always easy for me to read print books (due to my disability) so that sometimes slows down my reading of print books.

The Book of Strange New Things by Michel Faber

This book is wonderful. It’s one of those books that I want to read slowly so I can savour it but at the same time I can’t stop thinking about it and want to just sit and read it all in one go.

The Keeper of Lost Things by Ruth Hogan (review ebook)

This is another review book and one that I’m completely and utterly adoring. It’s just everything I love in a story.

Ready Player One by Ernest Cline

This book is such a fun read and I’m loving all of the 80s references throughout.

 

 

Update on my TBR

TBR at the start of January 2017 (as of my State of the TBR post): 1885

TBR in last week’s Weekly Wrap-Up: 1887

Books added this week: 8 (find out which books I bought in my Stacking the Shelves post)

Books got rid of this week: 10

TBR now stands at: 1880

I realise that I’m not going to be able to resist buying books on occasion so I’m trying to balance any new books coming in with culling a few from my shelves that I know I’m not going to read.

 

 

What have you been reading this week? Please feel free to link to your weekly wrap-up post, or if you don’t have a blog please share in the comments below! I love to hear what you’re all reading. :)

 

 

SundayBlogShare

I’m linking this post up to Kimberly at Caffeinated Book Reviewer’s Sunday Blog Share.  It’s a chance to share news~ A post to recap the past week on your blog and showcase books and things we have received. Share news about what is coming up on our blog for the week ahead.

Weekly Wrap-Up (15 Jan)

Posted on by

Weekly Wrap up SQUARE copyrighted

I’ve had a really good reading and blogging week this week so I’m happy at that. My real life has been a bit up and down with another bad fall on Friday that has increased my pain levels. It could have been so much worse though as I had a glass in my hand at the time but thankfully didn’t cut myself. The increased pain has meant I’ve not managed to be around on social media, or to reply to comments on my blog as much as I would have liked to have been over the weekend. I will get around to replying as soon as I can but please know that I do always very much appreciate  comments and shares.

This week I’ve finished reading five books:

Relativity by Antonia Hayes (review book)

Landline by Rainbow Rowell

How Much The Heart Can Hold by Carys Bray et al. (review book)

Swimming Lessons by Claire Fuller (review book)

Lies by TM Logan (review book)

 

This week I’ve blogged seven times:

Sunday: Weekly Wrap-Up (8 Jan)

Monday: 2017 Reading Plans and the State of My TBR

Tuesday: Review of Behind Her Eyes by Sarah Pinborough

Wednesday: WWW Wednesday (11 Jan)

Thursday: Review of Everything You Told Me by Lucy Dawson

Friday: Review of Spider from Mars: My Life with Bowie by Woody Woodmansey

Saturday: Stacking the Shelves (14 Jan)

 

This is what I’m currently reading:

Loving the Life Less Lived by Gail Marie Mitchell (review book)

The Age of Bowie by Paul Morley

The Poisonwood Bible by Barbara Kingsolver

Howards End is on the Landing: A Year of Reading from Home by Susan Hill

Ready Player One by Ernest Cline

Her Every Fear by Peter Swanson (review book)

 

 

Last week I wrote a post about the state of my TBR and how I wanted to try and focus on reading the books I already own this year. You can read that post here. To keep myself motivated I’m going to update my numbers as part of my weekly wrap-up post from now on.

Update on my TBR

TBR at the start of January 2017: 1885

Books added this week: 4

TBR now stands at: 1887 (due to my having now started reading two more books off my TBR since the four new books were added)

 

What have you been reading this week? Please feel free to link to your weekly wrap-up post, or if you don’t have a blog please share in the comments below! I love to hear what you’re all reading. :)

 

 

SundayBlogShare

I’m linking this post up to Kimberly at Caffeinated Book Reviewer’s Sunday Blog Share.  It’s a chance to share news~ A post to recap the past week on your blog and showcase books and things we have received. Share news about what is coming up on our blog for the week ahead.

Weekly Wrap-Up (8 Jan 2017)

Posted on by

Weekly Wrap up SQUARE copyrighted

 

It’s been ages since I’ve done a weekly wrap-up post but I really want to get back into doing them on a more regular basis as I always used to enjoy putting them together.

I don’t have much news this week apart from what I’ve been reading. I have really enjoyed blogging most days over the past week, it’s been a while since I had so much to post. I’m hoping to get some reviews scheduled for the next week or so.

This week I’ve read five books:

read-7-jan-fin

Spiders From Mars by Woody Woodmansey

And Then There Were None by Agatha Christie

The Girl by Samantha Geimer

Everything You Told Me by Lucy Dawson

Wishful Drinking by Carrie Fisher (audio book)

 

This week I’ve blogged five times:

copy-of-weekly-wrap-upon-rather-too-fond-of-books-3

Tuesday: My Top Ten Fiction Reads 2016

copy-of-weekly-wrap-upon-rather-too-fond-of-books-4

Wednesday: My Top Ten Non-Fiction Reads 2016

img_7952

Thursday: My Christmas Book Haul

img_8009

Friday: My Reading Bingo Results 2016

Stacking the Shelves

Saturday: Stacking the Shelves (7 Jan 2016)

 

This is what I’m currently reading:

currently-reading-7-jan

Swimming Lessons by Claire Fuller (review ebook)

Landline by Rainbow Rowell

Loving the Life Less Lived by Gail Marie Mitchell (review book)

Relativity by Antonia Hayes (review book)

The Age of Bowie by Paul Morley

The Poisonwood Bible by Barbara Kingsolver

 

 

What have you been reading this week? Please feel free to link to your weekly wrap-up post, or if you don’t have a blog please share in the comments below! I love to hear what you’re all reading. :)

 

SundayBlogShare

I’m linking this post up to Kimberly at Caffeinated Book Reviewer’s Sunday Blog Share.  It’s a chance to share news~ A post to recap the past week on your blog and showcase books and things we have received. Share news about what is coming up on our blog for the week ahead.

 

 

Weekly Wrap-Up (22 May)

Posted on by

 

Weekly Wrap up SQUARE copyrighted

 

SundayBlogShare

I’m linking this post up to Kimberly at Caffeinated Book Reviewer’s Sunday Blog Share.  It’s a chance to share news~ A post to recap the past week on your blog and showcase books and things we have received. Share news about what is coming up on our blog for the week ahead.

 

It’s been a busy week for me this week, which has really taken it out of me but it’s been worth it.

The best part about the week was that I finally managed to have my hair cut for the first time since my surgery. I had really long hair but when you can’t wash it, or even brush it yourself it starts to feel like another burden so I decided it would be better for me to have it cut off. It took me a while to persuade my hairdresser to cut it as short as I wanted it as she was worried it was too drastic but I’m really happy with how it looks now. My head feels lighter, which has got to be better for my neck, and it’s going to be so much easier to look after. It’s made me realise that I need to start looking at where else  changes can possibly be made in order to try and make life easier.

I’ve managed to get a post up every day this week, which feels like an achievement. They were all scheduled in advance where possible and otherwise were done in stages as I felt up to it.

The biggest news this week is that my blog has been nominated for a Bloggers Bash award!! I’m up for Best Book Review Blog 2016 and I’m still utterly gobsmacked. Thank you to whoever it was that nominated me, you’ve made me so happy! I’m up against some incredible blogs that are much more established than me so I know I won’t win but I feel like I’ve already won as it’s such an honour to be nominated. If you’d like to vote for me I’m listed as Hayley in the Best Book Review Blog category, you can also vote in all the other categories at this link: Bloggers Bash Awards 2016

A lot of you will know that this blog started off as a little hobby as I was recovering from major spinal surgery last year but as it became apparent that my disability would remain severe my blog has become so much more to me. I don’t know how I would have got through this without having my blog to focus on and all you lovely bloggers that have followed me and supported me.

This week I’ve managed to read two novel and two short stories:

The Treachery of Trains by Sylvia Ashby

This Secret We’re Keeping by Rebecca Done

The Boy with the Board (Meet Cute series) by Katey Lovell

The Boy at the BBQ (Meet Cute series) by Katey Lovell

 I’ve blogged ten (plus one reblog) times this week:

Sunday:

Weekly Wrap-Up Post

Monday:

My Bookish Memories/Review of After You’d Gone by Maggie O’Farrell (linked to the 3 Quotes Challenge)

Tuesday:

My Bookish Memories/Review of Fahrenheit 451 by Ray Bradbury (linked to the 3 Quotes Challenge)

 

Wednesday:

My Bookish Memories/Review of The Lovely Bones by Alice Sebold (linked to the 3 Quotes Challenge)

WWW Wednesday Post

Thursday:

Review of The Treachery of Trains by Sylvia Ashby

Guest post about making something happen in your novel by Sue Fortin, author of The Girl Who Lied for the Blog Tour

ReBlog: Bloggers Bash Awards Nominations Announcement

Friday:

Review of The Boy with the Board (Meet Cute series) by Katey Lovell

Book Beginnings: The Trap by Melanie Raabe

Saturday:

Stacking the Shelves Post

Coming up on my blog this week:

Sunday: Weekly Wrap-Up Post

Monday: Interview with Sylvia Ashby, author of The Treachery of Trains

Tuesday: Review

Wednesday: WWW Wednesday Post

Thursday: Review

Friday: Book Beginnings Post

Saturday: Stacking the Shelves Post

This is what I’m currently reading:

My Favourite Manson Girl by Alison Umminger

Sockpuppet by Matthew Blakstad

Where Did I Go? by Polly Williamson

 

 

What have you been reading this week? Please feel free to link to your weekly wrap-up post, or if you don’t have a blog please share in the comments below! I love to hear what you’re all reading. :)

Weekly Wrap-Up (15 May)

Posted on by

 

 

Weekly Wrap up SQUARE copyrighted

I’m linking this post up to Kimberly at Caffeinated Book Reviewer’s Sunday Blog Share.

It’s been quite a rough week this week and I’m still recovering from it but I wanted to try to get my wrap-up post up on time. I had my appointment with the pain specialist earlier this week, it went ok but there isn’t an easy answer. For now, I’ve had some injections into my spine which I’m hoping will help but they’ve initially caused a flare up of pain. It was horrible for the first three days but I feel slightly more human today. I’ve been told to rest as much as I can so I’m trying to be good!

As a result of all of this I’ve not been around much this week. I had posts scheduled so they’ve gone out as planned but I’ve not been able to read blogs like I normally do, or to comment and share so I apologise if I’ve missed any important news. Please leave links to your posts in my comments if there’s something I’ve not seen that you think I would enjoy reading. I hope to catch up in the next few days. Thank you to all of you who have read, liked, commented or shared my posts despite me not reciprocating – I appreciate it so much.

This week I’ve managed to finish reading three books:

(Links to reviews are in orange)

Tapestry by Elle Turner

Distress Signals by Catherine Ryan Howard

Everyone Brave is Forgiven by Chris Cleave

 I’ve blogged eight times this week:

Sunday: 

Weekly Wrap-Up Post

Monday:

Review of Shame by Jasvinder Sanghera

Tuesday:

Review of The Midnight Watch by David Dyer

Wednesday:

WWW Wednesday Post

Review of The Ice Twins by S. K. Tremayne

Thursday:

Review of Tapestry by Elle Turner

Friday:

The A-Z of Books tag

Saturday:

Stacking the Shelves Post

Coming up on my blog this week:

Sunday: Weekly Wrap-Up post

Monday: Review

Tuesday: Review

Wednesday: WWW Wednesday post

Thursday: Blog tour | Review of The Treachery of Trains by Sylvia Ashby

Friday: Review of The Boy with the Board by Katey Lovell

Saturday: Stacking the Shelves post

 

This is what I’m currently reading:

This Secret We’re Keeping by Rebecca Done

Sockpuppet by Matthew Blakstad

My Favourite Manson Girl by Alison Umminger

The Treachery of Trains by Sylvia Ashby

Where Did I Go? by Polly Williamson

 

What have you been reading this week? Please feel free to link to your weekly wrap-up post, or if you don’t have a blog please share in the comments below! I love to hear what you’re all reading. :)

Weekly Wrap-Up (8 May)

Posted on by

Weekly Wrap up SQUARE copyrighted

I’m linking this post up to Kimba’s Caffeinated Book Reviewer’s Sunday Blog Share.

I don’t have much real life news for the last week, it’s been a quiet week. This coming week is going to be a tough one with medical appointments so I don’t think I will be able to get much reading done this week. I also won’t be around as much on social media so forgive me if I miss any news or don’t manage to comment/share/like blog posts as much as I usually do.

Thank you for all your lovely words about my blog’s makeover. It’s been a week now since I finalised the makeover and I’m so happy with it, every time I go to do anything on my blog it makes me smile. The time it took me to get the re-vamp done meant I didn’t get my blog scheduled as much as I would have liked for this week so I’ve struggled to get posts up on time this week. I finally got caught up in the last day or so and am back to being scheduled ahead again. I’m now trying to schedule much further in advance than I have previously done due to the horrible week ahead, I’d really like to still have posts up most days so hopefully I’ll be able to do that.

I also still need to sort out the pages in my menus at the top of my blog as whilst I do have a system of organising my posts, it’s not really working so well now the number of posts on my blog has got greater. I know what I want to do with them, it’s just a matter of finding the time to do it.

This week I’ve managed to read four books:

The Midnight Watch by David Dyer

This Must Be The Place by Maggie O’Farrell

The Wacky Man by Lyn G. Farrell

The Children Act by Ian McEwan

I’ve already reviewed This Must Be The Place and The Wacky Man so click the links above if you’d like to read those reviews.

I’ve blogged twelve times this week:

(Click the links if you’d like to read any of these posts)

Sunday:

Weekly Wrap-Up Post

Monday:

Q&A with Deborah Rogers, author of The Devil’s Wire

My April Wrap-Up Post

Tuesday:

Q&A with Cara Sue Achterberg, author of Girls’ Weekend

Wednesday:

Review of Wonder Cruise by Ursula Bloom

WWW Wednesday Post

Thursday:

Review of Shtum by Jem Lester

Q&A with Sheryl Browne, author of The Rest of My Life

Friday:

Review of This Must Be The Place by Maggie O’Farrell

Saturday:

Blog Tour | Review of The Wacky Man by Lyn G. Farrell

The Lad Lit Blog Tour | Guest post by Steven Scaffardi

Stacking the Shelves Post

Coming up on my blog this week:

I’ll be joining in with WWW Wednesday, Stacking the Shelves on Saturday, and my Weekly Wrap-up on Sunday. I also have some author interviews ready to schedule, and some book reviews.

This is what I’m currently reading:

Sockpuppet by Matthew Blakstad

Tapestry by Elle Turner

Where Did I go? by Polly Williamson

Wink Poppy Midnight by April Genevieve Tucholke

This Secret We’re Keeping by Rebecca Done

Everyone Brave is Forgiven by Chris Cleave

Weekly Wrap up SQUARE copyrighted

What have you been reading this week? Please feel free to link to your weekly wrap-up post, or if you don’t have a blog please share in the comments below! I love to hear what you’re all reading. :)

Weekly Wrap-Up (1 May)

Posted on by

 

 

 

Weekly Wrap up SQUARE copyrighted

I’m linking this post up to Kimba’s Caffeinated Book Reviewer’s Sunday Blog Share.  

My husband had a week holiday from work this week so it’s been lovely having him home with me. We didn’t plan on doing much as it’s impossible to know how I’m going to be from one day to the next at the moment but it was nice just to have time together.

My pain levels are still up and down but I finally have an appointment to see a pain specialist this month. I’m hoping that he can help me.

My husband has been helping me re-design my blog this week – he’s taken some gorgeous photos of my books for me to use in my posts so I can’t wait to have a chance to use those. I’ve also registered RatherTooFondofBooks as my domain so my blog is now rathertoofondofbooks.com, which looks great and makes me smile to see it. I changed my blog to the new look last night and I’m very happy with it. It was a lot more work than I was expecting for various reasons but worth it.

This week I’ve managed to read three books:

The Real Book Thief by Ingrid Black

Shtum by Jem Lester

The Ice Twins by S. K. Tremayne

 I’ve blogged twelve times this week:

(Click the links if you’d like to read any of these posts)

Sunday:

Blog tour Q&A with Siobhan Macdonald (author of Twisted River)

Weekly Wrap-Up Post

Monday:

Review of Between You and Me by Lisa Hall

Tuesday: 

Review of The Second Love of My Life by Victoria Walters

Winner of my Rose’s Vintage ebook giveaway announcement post

An All-Time Favourite!

Wednesday:

Guest Post by Sandra Nikolai (author of Fatal Whispers) about keeping one step ahead of readers when you’re a murder mystery writer

WWW Wednesday Post

Thursday:

Review of Twisted River by Siobhan MacDonald

Friday: 

Q&A with Greg Cope White (author of The Pink Marine)

Re-blog of my review of Out of the Darkness by Katy Hogan

Saturday:

Stacking the Shelves Post

New Look for my Blog!

Coming up on my blog this week:

My monthly wrap-up post will be up either later today or tomorrow morning. I’ll also be joining in with WWW Wednesday, Stacking the Shelves on Saturday, and my Weekly Wrap-up on Sunday.

 

This is what I’m currently reading:

The Wacky Man by Lyn G. Ferrell

The Midnight Watch by David Dyer

The Children Act by Ian McEwan

Everyone Brave is Forgiven by Chris Cleave

This Secret We’re Keeping by Rebecca Done

Wink Poppy Midnight by April Genevieve Tucholke

 

 

Weekly Wrap up SQUARE copyrighted

What have you been reading this week? Please feel free to link to your weekly wrap-up post, or if you don’t have a blog please share in the comments below! I love to hear what you’re all reading. :)

Weekly Wrap-Up (24 April)

Posted on by

Weekly wrap-up banner

SundayBlogShare

I’m linking this post up to Kimberly at Caffeinated Book Reviewer’s Sunday Blog Share.  It’s a chance to share news~ A post to recap the past week on your blog and showcase books and things we have received. Share news about what is coming up on our blog for the week ahead.

 

This week has been another up and down week for me. The beginning of the week was particularly difficult when my already severe pain levels increased further but thankfully they’ve settled a bit since. I’ve had a useful medical appointment this week that is hopefully going to finally lead on to me getting help with the pain. I’m also due to have another MRI scan tomorrow to check that there is nothing else going on in my spine that could be aggravating my pain.

I’m still only managing to concentrate for small periods of time so I’m not getting to read as much as I’d like. I’m grateful to be able to read even a little though and am hoping it will get easier in time. I did manage to finish some books this week that I’ve been reading for a few weeks so I was pleased about that.

It’s been a good week where my blog is concerned though. Thanks to my new scheduling pattern, I had enough posts set up ready to go so that my blog kept going as planned even when I wasn’t around much. It gives me real satisfaction to keep my blog running, even during the tough times so I was really glad that I’d worked out scheduling before this rough patch.

This week I’ve managed to finish reading five books (most of these books I’ve been reading for a few weeks and just finished this week):

Twisted River by Siobhan MacDonald

I really enjoyed reading this book, it was one of those reads that is really hard to put down once you’ve started reading it. It was different to anything else I’ve read recently and kept me guessing all the way through. I’m on the blog tour for this book today and so look out for my interview with Siobhan MacDonald.

Wonder Cruise by Ursula Bloom

Wonder Cruise is such a lovely novel, I found that I wanted to read it slowly to savour it and I really didn’t want it to end. I hope to get my review up this week. I’ll definitely be looking out for more of Ursula Bloom’s novels in the future.

The Second Love of My Life by Victoria Walters

This book is such a gorgeous read, I absolutely loved it! It had such depth to it and yet was never heavy-going. I hope to have my review of this up on my blog this week.

Kindred Spirits by Rainbow Rowell

This is a novella released for World Book Day and my first ever Rainbow Rowell book! I loved it, it’s such an adorable read! This is the only book I managed to read from start to finish in the course of this week.

Shame by Jasvinder Sanghera

This is a fascinating read about a young woman who runs away from her family to escape an arranged marriage, but that is only the beginning of what happened to Jasvinder. This is ultimately an inspiring read and I recommend it. I hope to have my review ready to post very soon.

 I’ve blogged twelve times this week (well, eleven times plus a re-blog of my guest post on another blog):

 

Sunday: Weekly Wrap-Up Post

Monday: Q&A with Kayte Nunn (author of Rose’s Vintage) plus giveaway of ebooks

Blog post: Addicted to Blogging (all about writing my first 200 posts!)

Tuesday: Review of In Too Deep by Samantha Hayes

Wednesday: WWW Wednesday Post

Review of The Boy with the Boxes (Meet Cute) by Katey Lovell

Thursday: Review of The Boy on the Bus (Meet Cute) by Katey Lovell

Q&A with Mike Russell (author of the short story collection, Nothing is Strange)

Friday: Guest post by Heidi Perks (author of Beneath the Surface) about marketing a book on a limited budget

Re-blog from Laura at 125Pages where I wrote a guest post for her about how I approach blogging.

Saturday: Stacking the Shelves Post

Coming up on my blog this week:

My usual WWW Wednesday Post, Stacking the Shelves Post and Weekly Wrap-Up Post. Plus more reviews and an author Q&A/guest post.

This is what I’m currently reading:

Shtum by Jem Lester

This book has got better as it’s gone along and I’m quite enjoying it now.

The Midnight Watch by David Dyer

It’s so frustrating that I can only read in short bursts at the moment because this is a book I would have devoured normally. It’s a brilliant novel though and I highly recommend it. When I’m not able to read I’m thinking about this book and wishing I could get back to it.

Everyone Brave is Forgiven by Chris Cleave

I’ve only managed to read the first few chapters of this due to my lack of concentration but I’ve loved what I’ve read and I’m so looking forward to reading more. They writing is so beautiful and every single page feels like a treat.

https://rathertoofondofbooks.wordpress.com/2016/03/27/weekly-wrap-up-27-march-2016/

What have you been reading this week? Please feel free to link to your weekly wrap-up post, or if you don’t have a blog please share in the comments below! I love to hear what you’re all reading. :)

Weekly Wrap-Up (17 April 2016)

Posted on by

Weekly wrap-up banner

SundayBlogShare

I’m linking this post up to Kimberly at Caffeinated Book Reviewer’s Sunday Blog Share.  It’s a chance to share news~ A post to recap the past week on your blog and showcase books and things we have received. Share news about what is coming up on our blog for the week ahead.

 

I’ve not had the best week in terms of my health, I’m still struggling to find the balance between controlling pain but not ending up feeling out of it on painkillers. The result at the moment is that I’m feeling quite awful all of the time, so my reading is suffering as I can’t concentrate on books for more than around ten minutes at a time.

I’ve had a good week in terms of blogging though. It’s made such a huge difference to me having my dictation software, I’m dictating just about everything now (even tweets & Facebook updates) so it’s great. Finally working out how to schedule posts in advance, and also how to schedule links to my blog posts to go out on social media using an app, has been a revelation. I’m managing my time better now and it’s been great this week that I’ve had posts up every day on my blog as it was all scheduled in advance during the short periods when I’ve felt a little better.

 

This week I’ve managed to read two books:

Peter and Alice by John Hogan

This is actually a play script but it was easy enough to read as it’s predominantly got just the two characters throughout. This a fictional conversation between Alice (who Alice in Wonderland was based on) and Peter (who Peter Pan was based on) and it’s fascinating. I bought this book a while ago but wish I’d read it sooner now as it was brilliant. I plan to review this on my blog quite soon.

In Too Deep by Samantha Hayes

I finished reading this very late on Friday night and so haven’t managed to review it yet but I will be doing very soon. I really enjoyed this book, it kept me hooked all the way through it.

 

 I’ve blogged ten times this week:

https://rathertoofondofbooks.wordpress.com/2016/03/27/weekly-wrap-up-27-march-2016/

Sunday: Weekly Wrap-Up Post

721_98321085460_304_n

Monday: Q&A with Sherry Mayes (author of Stop the World)

dear dad by giselle green

Tuesday: Review of Dear Dad by Giselle Green

WWW pic

Wednesday: WWW Wednesday post

First by Laurie Elizabeth Flynn

Thursday: Review of Firsts by Laurie Elizabeth Flynn

IMG_4703

Announcement of the winner of The One-in-a-Million Boy giveaway

when she was bad tammy

Friday: Review of When She Was Bad by Tammy Cohen

Wonder Cruise by Ursula Bloom

Blog post about Wonder Cruise by Ursula Bloom

Stacking the Shelves

Saturday: Stacking the Shelves post

hope-stories-from-a-womens-refuge

Guest post by Rosy Stewart (Author of Hope: Stories from a Women’s Refuge)

 

Coming up on my blog this week:

Sunday: Weekly Wrap-Up (Sunday Post)

Monday: Q&A with Kayte Nunn (author of Rose’s Vintage) PLUS an international giveaway!

Tuesday: Review or Author Q&A/Interview

Wednesday: WWW Wednesday Post

Thursday: Review or Author Q&A/Interview

Friday: Review or Author Q&A/Interview

Saturday: Stacking the Shelves Post

 

This is what I’m currently reading:

The Midnight Watch by David Dyer

I treated myself to this book last week and couldn’t resist starting it the other day. It’s about the Titanic disaster but focuses on the Californian – the ship who was near enough to potentially help but they didn’t react. It’s a novel but has been very heavily researched.  I’ve only read the first few chapters so far but it’s very good.

The Second Love of My Life by Victoria Walters

I’m very much enjoying this book, it’s brilliant. The only reason for me not finishing it sooner is due to me not being able to read much this week. I hope to read more of it very soon.

Shtum by Jem Lester

I’ve read the first third of this book but I’m not feeling very motivated to pick it back up, it just isn’t grabbing me at all. 

Shame by Jasvinder Sanghera

This is non-fiction and whilst I know it’s probably going to be quite a tough read later on, at the moment it’s fascinating reading about the family dynamics and how they all got on before the problems started.

Wonder Cruise by Ursula Bloom

This book is wonderful. It was written in the 1930s and is about a spinster, Ann, who always listens to what her brother tells her and lives a very sheltered existence. Then one day she comes into a sum of money and on a whim books a cruise! I’ve only read the first few chapters but it’s such an enjoyable read and I’m looking forward to reading more when I feel better. If you want to know more about this book, I wrote a post about it on my blog yesterday – you can read that here.

Twisted River by Siobhan MacDonald

I only started reading this late last night so have only read a couple of chapters so far but I really want to read more of it as soon as I can. I’m on the blog tour for this book on Sunday so look out for my post then.

 

 

https://rathertoofondofbooks.wordpress.com/2016/03/27/weekly-wrap-up-27-march-2016/

What have you been reading this week? Please feel free to link to your weekly wrap-up post, or if you don’t have a blog please share in the comments below! I love to hear what you’re all reading. :)

 

Weekly Wrap-Up (10 April 2016)

Posted on by

Weekly wrap-up banner

SundayBlogShare

I’m linking this post up to Kimberly at Caffeinated Book Reviewer’s Sunday Blog Share.  It’s a chance to share news~ A post to recap the past week on your blog and showcase books and things we have received. Share news about what is coming up on our blog for the week ahead.

 

This week’s been another up-and-down week in my real life. I’m still struggling with a combination of increased pain and the side-effects from my increased painkillers. This has meant that I’m having days where I haven’t managed to read anything at all, and on the days where I can read I’m only managing to read in short periods, which is very frustrating when you have TBR as big as mine but hopefully things will being to settle soon.

Dragon Software

On the plus side this week I finally decided to go ahead and get some voice activation/dictation software. I’ve used Dragon software in the past but found it really difficult to train, which is why I’ve been unsure whether it was worth trying again now. Anyway, I got this new software a few days ago fully expecting it to take ages to train so I was stunned when, after just running through the setup and then opening a pages document to see how well it worked, that it actually didn’t need any further training! Only an hour after opening the box I was able to dictate an entire review and found that the few tiny mistakes it made were easy enough to correct. I’m definitely converted to Dragon! 

Thanks to everyone who gave me advice on finding better life balance last week. Things have come together in quite a serendipitous way this week. Firstly, the Dragon software is allowing me to dictate all of my blog posts which means no more typing so my pain levels aren’t being quite so aggravated by my blogging. Secondly, I discovered how to schedule blog posts that haven’t yet been published, and I found some software that I can then use schedule my links to post to my social media accounts at set intervals during the day. All of this means that I can now schedule in a regular time during the week where I can work on my blog schedule a few blog posts at time, then on my bad days I don’t have to stress about it. It’s early days yet but I think this compromise will work really well for me and I’m really grateful everyone who suggested that I consider scheduling posts in advance rather than doing it on a day-to-day basis. My blog is very important to me and gives me such a sense of fulfilment so I don’t want to compromise on the number of posts I write but at least this new way will allow me to work on my blog in blocks of time, meaning I can give myself time away from it too.

This week I’ve managed to read four  books (actually one novel, one novella and two short stories):

The Boy on the Bus by Katey Lovell (Meet Cute series)

The Boy With the Boxes by Katey Lovell (Meet Cute series)

Dear Dad by Giselle Green

The Summer I Met You by Victoria Walters

 

 I’ve blogged six times this week:

https://rathertoofondofbooks.wordpress.com/2016/03/27/weekly-wrap-up-27-march-2016/

Sunday: Weekly Wrap-up Post

IMG_4703

Tuesday: Review and Giveaway: The One-in-a-Million Boy by Monica Ward.  This giveaway is for a brand-new hardback copy of the book and it’s open internationally so everyone can enter. The giveaway closes on Wednesday so you still have time!

WWW pic

Wednesday: WWW Wednesday Post

The Swimming Pool by Louise Candlish

Thursday: Review: The Swimming Pool by Louise Candlish

The Good Mother by A. L. Bird

Friday: Review: The Good Mother by A. L. Bird

Stacking the Shelves

Saturday: Stacking the Shelves Post

 

Coming up on my blog this week:

Monday: Author interview with Sherry Mayes (Stop the World)

Tuesday: Book Review or guest post/author Q&A

Wednesday: WWW Wednesday Post

Thursday: Book Review or guest post/author Q&A

Friday: Book Review or guest post/author Q&A

Saturday: Stacking the Shelves Post

Sunday: Weekly Wrap-Up Post

 

 

 This is what I’m currently reading:

In The Light of What We See by Sarah Painter

Wonder Cruise by Ursula Bloom

Shtum by Jem Lester

Shame by Jasvinder Sanghera

The Second Love of My Life by Victoria Walters

Truth, Lies and O-Rings by Alan J MacDonald and James R Hansen

 

What have you been reading this week? Please feel free to link to your weekly wrap-up post, or if you don’t have a blog please share in the comments below! I love to hear what you’re all reading. :)

 

Weekly Wrap-Up (27 March 2016)

Posted on by

Weekly wrap-up banner

SundayBlogShare

I’m linking this post up to Kimberly at Caffeinated Book Reviewer’s Sunday Blog Share.  It’s a chance to share news~ A post to recap the past week on your blog and showcase books and things we have received. Share news about what is coming up on our blog for the week ahead.

 

 

This week has been a fab week on my blog. I was thrilled to pass 300 WordPress followers earlier in the week and then just yesterday I noticed that I’d passed 2000 total followers! I’ve only been blogging since the end of August so am feeling quite overwhelmed to find that I have so many people reading my blog. Thank you so much to each and every one of you. I started my blog after a really tough time in my real life as it gave me something positive to focus on every day. I don’t think I’ll ever be able to explain how much this blog and the support I’ve received has meant to me but I am so very, very grateful.

 

This week I’ve read three books:

The Missing by C. L. Taylor

This was a great read – a very intense, hard to put down novel about a family trying to come to terms with a missing teenager. It’s more of a mystery than a psychological thriller but it’s definitely one not to be missed. I hope to have a review of it up on my blog this week.

Between You and Me by Lisa Hall

There were aspects of this novel that were really well done and others that I feel conflicted about so I’m struggling to review it at the moment. I hope to find the words for a review and to have it up on my blog soon.

The One-in-a-Million Boy by Monica Wood

I just finished reading this novel last night and it had me in tears, I found it to be such a moving novel but ultimately very uplifting. I’m hoping to run a giveaway for a hardback copy of the novel along with my review so I’m intending to have this ready to go in the next week or two, so please keep an eye out for that.

 

I’ve managed to blog five times this week.

Sunday: Weekly Wrap-Up Post

Monday: Blog Tour – Review of Ghostbird and interview with its author, Carol Lovekin

Wednesday: WWW Wednesday Post

Thursday: Q&A with Caroline James, author of Coffee, Tea, The Caribbean and Me

Saturday: Stacking the Shelves Post

 

Coming soon on my blog:

I have a busy time ahead this week with medical appointments that I know will take a lot out of me so I’m just going to blog if I’m up to it. I do have an author interview almost written up, and I have a couple of reviews ready for posting so hopefully I’ll manage to get this content on my blog over the course of this week.

 

Here’s what I’m currently reading:

Dear Dad by Giselle Green

The Swimming Pool by Louise Candlish

The Stylist by Rosie Nixon

Truth, Lies and O-Rings by Allan J. McDonald and James R. Hansen

I had started reading The Day of Second Chances by Julie Cohen but I hadn’t realised that the release date has been put back to July so as I’d only read a few chapters I’ve decided to put this book to one side until nearer the publication date. It is a book I was enjoying and I’ll look forward to reading it in its entirety closer to July.

 

 

What have you been reading this week? Please feel free to link to your weekly wrap-up post, or if you don’t have a blog please share in the comments below! I love to hear what you’re all reading. 🙂

Weekly Wrap-Up (20 March 2016)

Posted on by

Weekly wrap-up banner

SundayBlogShare

I’m linking this post up to Kimberly at Caffeinated Book Reviewer’s Sunday Blog Share.  It’s a chance to share news~ A post to recap the past week on your blog and showcase books and things we have received. Share news about what is coming up on our blog for the week ahead.

 

This week has been a busy week for me with a lot of things that have really taken it out of me but it’s been a productive week too.

The biggest and best thing to happen this week was that I got my stairlift installed! I can’t quite put into words how much happier I feel already at being able to get down the stairs. It’s wonderful and I now wish I hadn’t resisted for so long. Finally being able to spend time in a different room of the house has been lovely but it’s really taken it out of me, I’ve been exhausted the last couple of days. It was worth it this week though just to experience the freedom of getting down the stairs again.

Due to the busy week and increased pain levels and fatigue I haven’t managed to read as much as I would have liked this week. I have still being able to read for a little while on most days though, which I’m pleased about. I hate when I have whole days where I don’t manage to read anything at all.

 

This week I’ve read three books:

When She Was Bad by Tammy Cohen

You Sent Me a Letter by Lucy Dawson I reviewed this book on my blog on Friday so you can read it HERE if you’d like to.

Ghostbird by Carol Lovekin I’ll be sharing my review of this book on my blog tomorrow as part of the blog tour so please look out for that.

 

I’ve managed to blog seven times this week, which I’m very happy about. I miss blogging on the times when I’m not able to.

Sunday: Weekly Wrap-Up Post

Monday: Q&A with Andy Owen (author of East of Coker)

Wednesday: WWW Wednesday post

Thursday: Review of The Butcher’s Hook by Janet Ellis

 Cover reveal for The Joyce Girl by Annabel Abbs

Friday: Review of You Sent Me A Letter by Lucy Dawson

Saturday: Stacking the Shelves post

 

Coming soon on my blog:

Monday: I’m on the blog tour for Ghostbird by Carol Lovekin so will be able to share my review of this wonderful novel and also a Q&A with the author herself!

I haven’t got the rest of my blog week scheduled yet but I do know that I will have a Q&A with author Caroline James, and I have some reviews to write and post too of books that I’ve read over the last couple of weeks.

 

Here’s what I’m currently reading:

 

The Missing by C. L. Taylor

The One-in-a-Million Boy by Monica Wood

Truth, Lies and O-Rings by Allan J. McDonald and James R. Hansen

The Stylist by Rosie Nixon

The Day of Second Chances by Julie Cohen

 

What have you been reading this week? Please feel free to link to your weekly wrap-up post, or if you don’t have a blog please share in the comments below! I love to hear what you’re all reading. 🙂