Tag Archives: Ben McPherson

Weekly Wrap-Up! (9 Jul)

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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.

 

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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.

WWW Wednesday (5 Jul) What are you reading this week?

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WWW pic

WWW Wednesday is a meme hosted by Sam at Taking on a World of Words. It’s open for anyone to join in and is a great way to share what you’ve been reading! All you have to do is answer three questions and share a link to your blog in the comments section of Sam’s blog.

The three Ws are:

What are you currently reading?

What did you recently finish reading?

What do you think you’ll read next?

A similar meme is run by Lipsyy Lost and Found where bloggers share This Week in Books #TWiB.

 

What I’m reading now:

A Manual for Heartache by Cathy Rentzenbrink

I had this pre-ordered on Kindle as I’ve been so keen to read it. I started it last night and it’s brilliant, I really am getting so much out of it. In fact I’m finding it so brilliant that I’ve now ordered a hardback copy to have on my bookcase. I highly recommend this book!

Last Seen by Lucy Clarke

I’m a huge fan of Lucy Clarke and always look forward to a new novel from her. I’m so pleased to say that this book absolutely lives up to her previous books and I’m utterly engrossed in it.

The Child by Fiona Barton

I’ve listed this here but unfortunately I’m not actively reading this at the moment due to it being a large paperback and I physically can’t turn the pages just now. I have been very much hooked on the novel though and hope to be able to read more soon.

The End We Start From by Megan Hunter

This book is so much more than I even expected it to be and even though it’s a short book I’m deliberately reading it slowly to take it all in.

Baby Lost by Hannah Robert

I’ve read a few more chapters of this book this week and am finding it such a powerful read. I recommend this book.

The Devil in the White City by Erik Larson

I’m hoping to finally read a big chunk of this book in the coming week as my non-fiction mojo seems to be on its way back.

 

What I recently finished reading:

My Sister Milly by Gemma Dowler

I hadn’t heard about this book until I saw Gemma being interviewed on This Morning last week and I immediately bought the ebook. This is an incredibly moving book and one I want to review once I’ve got my thoughts together.

A Line of Blood by Ben McPherson

I’ve had this on my TBR for ages but it’s never got to the top of the mountain but when I saw the audio book was on my subscription service last week I decided to listen to it. I did find it very predictable which was a little disappointing but it was an enjoyable enough listen.

The Hidden Legacy by G. J. Minett

This was my latest pick from my #20BooksofSummer challenge and I really enjoyed it. I read it over two days and found myself completely hooked. I recommend this one and am kicking myself for leaving it on my TBR for so long before picking it up.

What I plan on reading next:

The Other Twin by Lucy V. Hay

I’ve been so excited to read this book for a good few weeks now and it’s finally time! I’ve heard so many good things about it and I think it’s going to be a real treat.

Not a Sound by Heather Gudenkauf

This was a book I hoped to read last week but didn’t manage to get to it. I’m going to make it a priority this week though and am really looking forward to it.

 

What are you reading at the moment? Have you finished any good books recently? Any books you’re looking forward to reading soon? Please feel free to join in with this meme and share your link below, or if you don’t have a blog please share in the comments below.

Weekly Wrap-Up! (2 Jul)

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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.

 

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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 and Stacking the Shelves (2nd January)

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It’s time for my first weekly wrap up of 2016! Firstly, I’d like to take the time to say a huge thank you to everyone who has helped and supported me as I found my feet in the book blogging world, I am more grateful than I can say. Starting this blog was one of the best things I did in 2015. I never expected that people would read my reviews or follow my blog, and I never knew that I would make genuine friends as a result of becoming a book blogger. It’s really not an understatement to say that starting this blog has changed my life already.

I last did a weekly wrap up post on 19th December so I’m going to use this post to recap all that has happened since then. My reading pace has slowed down massively since I was poorly at the start of December. I’m still not 100% well and due to my physio schedule becoming more intensive I’m exhausted and in increased amounts of pain a lot of the time and reading is near impossible when I feel like that. As a result of illness I barely blogged in December and I’m not going to be back at full blogging speed for a while yet. I am planning to post regular posts from now on though, they just won’t be daily as they were before.

Anyway, my recent posts have included:

My Christmas Novel Recommendations, where I shared my favourite Christmas reads of 2015.

My Favourite Ten Books of 2015, which was so hard to compile as I’ve read so many great books this year.

I also shared the 2015 Year in Review post that WordPress emailed to me.

Yesterday, I posted about My Most Anticipated Books of 2016, where I shared some of the books I’m most excited about reading when they’re released this year.

 

I’ve read five books (since 19th December) and have so far managed to review three of them, I hope to review the other two soon (click on the links below the images to read my reviews).

Snowed in for her Wedding by Emma Bennet

The Christmas Bus by Melody Carlson

Every Time a Bell Rings by Carmel Harrington 

Asking For It by Louise O’Neill

Mrs Scrooge by Carol Ann Duffy (which was my first read of 2016!)

 

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I’m also joining in with Stacking the Shelves (hosted by Tynga’s Reviews), which is all about sharing the books that you’ve acquired in the past week – ebooks or physical books, and books you’ve bought or borrowed or received an ARC of.

 

For Christmas I received four books, which was fab! Three were from my husband and the fourth was a gift from the publisher HarperImpulse.

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My husband gave me:

Spectacles by Sue Perkins (which I’ve been wanting to read since it was published back in October, so I’m very happy to have a copy now)

Mrs Scrooge by Carol Ann Duffy (this is a gorgeous, illustrated poem that I adored. I now want to collect her previous Christmas poems!)

In the Unlikely Event by Judy Blume (I have an ebook of this but haven’t read it yet as I’ve been saving it – as I often do with books by favourite authors – I’m thrilled to not only now have a hardback copy but it’s also signed by Judy!)

HarperImpulse sent me a copy of Miracle at Macy’s by Lynn Marie Hulsman, which was a lovely surprise!

 

Books I’ve bought since 19 December:

Public Library and Other Stories by Ali Smith

Jihadi by Yusuf Toropov

The Green Road by Anne Enright

We Never Asked for Wings by Vanessa Diffenbaugh

The Watchmaker of Filigree Street by Natasha Pulley

A Daughter’s Secret by Eleanor Moran

A Line of Blood by Ben McPherson

Love, Love Me Do by Mark Haysom

 

Books I’ve received for review (since 19 December):

The Chimes by Anna Smaill (print copy)

One More Day by Kelly Simmons (ecopy)

The Girl You Lost by Kathryn Croft (ecopy)

 

 

What have you been reading this week? Did you get any books for Christmas? Have you bought any new books? Please feel free to link to your wrap-up post, or if you don’t have a blog please share in the comments below! 🙂