Tag Archives: Haruki Murakami

That Was The Month That Was… February 2019!

Posted on by

monthly-wrap-up-post-copyrighted-4

I can’t believe that February is already over… where is 2019 going?!

I got a new MacBook this month and it’s fab. My old MacBook was nearly seven years old and while it was still going okay the screen wasn’t helping my eyes. The Retina display on this new Mac is fabulous and much easier to look at. I’m also finding the new butterly keyboard easier to type on so while I do still use voice software a lot I’m hoping that easier typing might mean I can continue blogging when WordPress forces me to use the update that I’ve so far had to avoid.

I’m mortified to discover that WordPress wasn’t running right on my old MacBook and I now see that I’ve had a lot of lovely comments on my blog over the last few months that I hadn’t seen before. There’s no way I can catch up with them all but I will make sure to read them and will reply where I can manage to. Hopefully things will run smoothly now and I can reply to comments as they arrive. Thanks so much to all of you who’ve commented on any of my posts, I can only apologise for not replying to them.

 

Here are the 21 that books I read in January:

Birthday Girl by Haruki Murakami

This was a fab short story that I got for my birthday in January and I loved it. It reminded me why I love Murakami’s writing and has made me want to pick up the novels of his that I so far haven’t read.

The Jigsaw Man by Paul Britton

This was an interesting insight into how criminal psychology came to be used more in modern policing in this country. It’s one man’s story and look back over the cases he’s worked on.

Gone by Midnight by Candice Fox

This was a great read, so fast-paced and twisty. I hope to get a review written and posted before too much longer.

Trauma by Dr. Gordon Turnbull

This book is fascinating and I’m so glad I read it. It’s a look at how PTSD came to be a diagnosis in this country, and how the treatment of the condition has changed over the years. I definitely recommend this one!

East of England by Eamonn Griffin

I loved this book. It was so different to my normal kind of read but I very much enjoyed it. I’ve already reviewed this one so click the book title above if you’d like to know more.

Alexander Hamilton by Ron Chernow

I part listened and part read this book and I found it so interesting. It’s a doorstop of a book but I seemed to get through it in no time as it’s really engaging.

All the Little Lies by Chris Curran

I loved this book too and as I’ve already reviewed it you can find out more about if you click the title above.

Blood Orange by Harriet Tyce

This book is brilliant and I already feel sure it’ll be in my best books of this year! I reviewed it this week so click the title above if you’d like to know more.

Cranford by Elizabeth Gaskell

I can’t believe I’d never read this book before as I really enjoy Gaskell’s writing, but better late than never as I loved it.

Manhunt by Colin Sutton

I picked this book after recently watching the TV adaptation. I found it interesting but it wasn’t quite as interesting as I’d hoped it would be.

Don’t Turn Around by Amanda Brooke

This was such a gripping read, I found it hard to put down. Hopefully I’ll get a review posted on here soon.

My Last Lie by Ella Drummond

This was another great read in February! I’ve reviewed this one so click on the title if you want to know more.

I Invited Her In by Adele Parks

I enjoyed this book but it wasn’t quite as good as I’d hoped. I spotted all the twists early on but the writing was still great and that’s what kept me reading.

The One by John Marrs

I part read and part listened to this book and it was an okay read. I was expecting a bit more but at the same time I found it hard to put down so it definitely kept me engaged all the way through.

The Girl Next Door by Phoebe Morgan

This was such a good read. I listened to the audio book and it was one of those reads that made me begrudge real life interfering with me book listening time!

The Bridal Party by J. G. Murray

I really enjoyed this book! It was another book that was hard to put down and I love that it all turned out differently than I was expecting.

 

The Night Olivia Fell by Christina McDonald

This book was so good! It was gripping from start to finish and was also a much more emotional read than I was expecting. I loved it and will definitely review it soon.

Last Ones Left Alive by Sarah David-Goff

This isn’t my usual kind of read but I loved it. It had so much depth to it and made me think, I really enjoyed it.

Are You The F**king Doctor? by Dr. Liam Farrell

This was another good read. It was funny and engaging and witty, I recommend it!

‘Kill The Black One First’ by Michael Fuller

I listened to this on audio and found it so interesting. It was shocking to read of the author’s experiences in the police force as a young black man but inspiring to see how he dealt with it and overcame it. The audio is narrated by the author too, which is always great with a memoir. I definitely recommend this one!

The Golden Child by Wendy James

I’ve had this ARC on my TBR for a few months now and finally picked it up yesterday. I ended up reading the whole book in one sitting, it’s such a good read!

 

January Blog Posts & Reviews:

I blogged 14 times in February which I’m happy with. Only six of those posts were reviews though which I need to improve on as I’m reading a lot and just haven’t been managing to get reviews written and posted. I think my new MacBook will help with that as it’s easier for me to use, and faster. Anyway, here are my blog posts and reviews from February…

That Was The Month That Was… January 2019

Stacking the Shelves (2 Feb)

This Week in Books (6 Feb)

Review of Senseless by Anna Lickley

Review of East of England by Eamonn Griffin

This Week in Books (13 Feb)

Review of All the Little Lies by Chris Curran

Stacking the Shelves (16 Feb)

Review of My Last Lie by Ella Drummond

This Week in Books (20 Feb)

Stacking the Shelves (23 Feb)

Review of Blood Orange by Harriet Tyce

This Week in Books (27 Feb)

Review of Waco: A Survivor’s Story by David Thidebeau

 

The state of my TBR:

the-state-of-my-2

Well my TBR has got a little bit out of control during February. My plan to reduce it by 200 books from the total at the start of the year to the total at the end as gone a bit awry. To be on target my TBR should now be down to 2407 owned books but it’s actually at 2482! Oops! In fairness though I am part-way through having a book sort out so I think there will be some books going to the charity shop that I no longer want to read. Other than I just need to keep reading, and perhaps be a bit better at not buying all of the books at once! Haha!

 

 

How was your February? I hope you all had a good month and that you read lots of good books. Did you read many books? What was your favourite book of the month? Please tell me in the comments, I’d love to know. Also, if you have a blog please feel free to leave a link to your month’s wrap-up post and I’ll be sure to read and comment back. 🙂

 

This Week in Books (6 Feb 2019)! What are you reading this week?

Posted on by

icon2

Today I’m taking in part in This Week in Books, which was started by Lipsyy Lost and Found! If you want to join in you just need to share what you’re reading now, what you’ve read over the last week, and what you hope to read next.

 

Now

All The Little Lies by Chris Curran

I’ve read and enjoyed previous novels by Chris Curran so I was excited to read this one and I’m so pleased to say that I’m really enjoying it.

Alexander Hamilton by Ron Chernow

I’ve had the audio book of this for a while and discovered the ebook on Kindle Unlimited so I’m part-reading and part-listening to this one. It’s such an interesting book, I’m really glad I picked it up.

I Owe You One by Sophie Kinsella

I love Sophie Kinsella’s writing so I was delighted to be picked to read this one on Pigeonhole. It’s such a fun read but I’m struggling to read on a phone screen so may have to put this down until I buy a print copy.

The Innocent Man by John Grisham

I haven’t read much of this over the last week but I am still keen to learn more about these cases and will be getting back to this one in the coming week.

 

Then

Trauma: From Lockerbie to 7/7: How Trauma Affects Our Minds And How We Fight Back by Gordon Turnbull

This book was such a fascinating read and I very much enjoyed it. It’s basically a history of PTSD and a really in-depth look at the condition. I’ve suffered with PTSD for years so was keen to read this, and I learnt so much. It’s a really accessible book so I’d recommend it to anyone who’s interested in the subject.

Gone by Midnight by Candice Fox

This book was really good. I particularly loved the two main characters and am definitely going to be looking out for the earlier books in this series so I can learn more about them. I will be reviewing this one soon.

The Jigsaw Man by Paul Britton

This book got recommended to me and I bought it right away and have been reading it for most of the last week. It’s a look at how a psychologist came to help solve some of the biggest crimes in the UK over the last thirty or so years. It was uncomfortable reading at times, especially reading about Colin Stagg and how he came to be charged with killing Rachel Nickell when he was innocent. Overall, it’s a really interesting look at forensic psychology.

Birthday Girl by Haruki Murakami

My husband bought me this for my birthday last week and I loved reading it. It’s a delightful short story that really leaves you thinking by the end. I think this will be a story that I re-read in the future.

Spare Room by Dreda Say Mitchell

I read this in one sitting, it grabbed me from the prologue and kept me hooked all the way through. I’ve already reviewed this so you can find my full thoughts here if you’d like to know more.

 

Next

Blood Orange by Harriet Tyce

I’ve been so eager to read this one and it feels like it’s finally close enough to publication that I can pick it up. I’m planning to start it on a quiet afternoon as I feel like it’s going to be difficult to put this one down once I start reading!

My Last Lie by Ella Drummond

This is another book I’ve been looking forward to and as I’m now on the blog tour later this month I’m hoping to pick it up this week.

The Bridal Party by J. G. Murray

This book sounds so good, and another one that I think will be hard to put down so I’m looking forward to getting lost in this one!

 

 

What have you been reading this week? I’d love to hear. And if you take part in This Week in Books or WWW Wednesday please feel free to leave your link below and I’ll make sure to visit and comment on your post. 🙂

Stacking the Shelves With A New Book Haul (2nd Feb 2019)!

Posted on by

new sts.png

Stacking the Shelves is a weekly meme hosted by Tynga’s Reviews and Reading Reality, which is all about sharing the books that you’ve acquired in the past week!

 

Books I Bought This week

How To Manage Your Home Without Losing Your Mind by Dana K. White

I read Dana’s book about decluttering last year and enjoyed so when I spotted this book in a recent Kindle sale I snapped it up. I still can’t resist books about tidying up or about decluttering (see my post here about doing the #konmari method if you want to know more about my decluttering experience).

The Geography of Friendship by Sally Piper

I saw a fab review of this book on Linda’s Book Bag recently and immediately pre-ordered a copy. It arrived yesterday and I can’t wait to read it.

The Talented Mr Ripley by Patricia Highsmith

I’ve wanted to read this book for such a long time so I’m happy to finally have a copy on my TBR.

Endurance: A Year in Space, A Lifetime of Discovery by Scott Kelly

I hadn’t heard of this book until it got recommended to me on Amazon this week but I immediately bought it. I love books about space!

First Man: The Life of Neil Armstrong by James Hansen

I missed seeing the film based on this book at the cinema so while I’m waiting for it to be on Sky I decided to buy and read the book.

Misogynies by Joan Smith

This is a book I’ve wanted to read for such a long time so I grabbed it when I spotted it in a sale this week. I don’t think this will be on my TBR for very long at all.

The Jigsaw Man by Paul Britton

I’m really enjoying reading about psychology at the moment so when this book about forensic psychology and profiling was recommended to me this week I couldn’t resist buying it right away. I’m reading it already and it’s really interesting.

What I Loved by Siri Hustvedt

I read this book years ago and adored it but my copy seems to have got lost so I bought a replacement copy this week and would like to try and re-read it this year at some point.

Birdman by Mo Hayder

This is another book that I owned and read a long time ago but somehow have lost my copy so I’m happy to have a replacement now. Mo Hayder is one of my favourite authors and I live in hope that one day she will publish another book, it’s been a few years now since her last one.

 

Books I got on Pigeonhole

I Owe You One by Sophie Kinsella

I’m really enjoying reading this new one by Sophie Kinsella. It’s a fun novel and great escapism.

Gallowstree Lane by Kate London

The first instalment of this arrived on my app yesterday so I hope to start reading it over the weekend. I’m looking forward to it.

 

Birthday Books

Birthday Girl by Haruki Murakami

My husband got me this for my birthday this week and I’ve already read it. I loved it!

At The Birth of Bowie by Phil Lancaster

My mum-in-law gave me this book as part of my birthday gift and I’m really looking forward to reading it soon.

 

Books I Received for Review

Spare Room by Dreda Say Mitchell

I’ve already read and reviewed this one so you can find my full thoughts here if you’d like to know more.

The Night Olivia Fell by Christina McDonald

I’ve been eagerly anticipating this novel as it sounds so good! I was thrilled to then get a review copy and I can’t wait to read it!

Almost Love by Louise O’Neill

This is another book that I’ve had my eye one and have been waiting for the paperback release so I’m delighted to have a review copy to read.

The Seven or Eight Deaths of Stella Fortuna by Juliet Grames

This book sounds so good, I am thrilled to have a gorgeous paperback proof to read. It definitely won’t be on my TBR for very long as I’m really keen to read it asap!

 

 

Have you bought any new books over the last week? Please tell me below. 🙂 If you join in with Stacking the Shelves please feel free to leave your link and I’ll make sure to read and comment on your post.

It’s Book Bingo Time! Will it be a full house for 2018? #BookBingo

Posted on by

I’ve really enjoyed doing book bingo over the last couple of years so couldn’t resist the chance to see whether I’d successfully filled in my bingo card for 2018. As ever, I don’t look at the bingo card during the year I just read what I want to read and then at the end of the year look through my reading to see if I’ve managed a full house.

So without further ado…

img_8009

 

A Book With More Than 500 Pages

14201

Jonathan Strange and Mr Norrell by Susanna Clarke

A Forgotten Classic

43223987

The Christmas Hirelings by Mary Elizabeth Braddon

A Book That Became a Movie

IMG_1886

The Hate U Give by Angie Thomas

A Book Published This Year

35437614

Lullaby by Leila Slimani

A Book With a Number in the Title

36358192

Seven Days of Us by Francesca Hornak

A Book Written By Someone Under 30

33606119-2

Why I’m No Longer Talking to White People about Race by Reni Eddo-Lodge

A Book With Non Human Characters

36352249

One Christmas Wish by Katherine Rundell

A Funny Book

35235302

This Is Going to Hurt by Adam Kay

A Book By A Female Author

36669495

The Winter’s Child by Cassandra Parkin

A Book With a Mystery

KEEPER COVER AW 2.indd

Keeper by Johana Gustawsson

A Book With A One Word Title

29640815

Allegedly by Tiffany D. Jackson

A Book of Short Stories

23398781

Barbara the Slut and Other People by Lauren Holmes

Free Square

42791243

Snowday by B R Maycock

A Book Set on a Different Continent

IMG_2340

Leave No Trace by Mindy Mejia

A Book of Non Fiction

12332233

No Such Thing As Society by Andy McSmith

The First Book By A Favourite Author

19472157-2

A is for Alibi by Sue Grafton

A Book You Heard About Online

51ZJAzdewoL

Lies Between Us by Ronnie Turner

A Best-Selling Book

36217425

Thirteen by Steve Cavanagh

A Book Based on a True Story 

IJ - NEW COVER Isolation Junction-4

Isolation Junction by Jennifer Gilmour

A Book At The Bottom of Your TBR Pile

46223

Norwegian Wood by Haruki Murakami

A Book Your Friend Loves

10893138

The Time of My Life by Cecelia Ahern

A Book that Scares You

38343858

I’ll Be Gone In The Dark by Michelle McNamara

A Book That Is More Than Ten Years Old

51bD+cvFwWL._SX324_BO1,204,203,200_

The Constant Gardener by John le Carre

The Second Book In A Series

18214414

The Silkworm by Robert Galbraith

A Book With a Blue Cover

34257841

Standard Deviation by Katherine Heiny

 

 

Woo hoo! Full House! I wasn’t sure when I started writing this post that I was actually going to have a book read in 2018 for every square but I’ve done it! It’s always fun to play Book Bingo, it’s another way to reflect on the year’s reading.

Have you taken part in Book Bingo for 2018? If you have I’d love to see your posts so please leave links below. 🙂

April Wrap-Up post!

Posted on by

Monthly Wrap Up post Copyrighted

April has been a quiet month for the most part. I’m still adjusting to medication changes, although that has been slowed down a bit now, so I haven’t felt up to doing much beyond my normal daily stuff. I did go out once this month with my husband, which was fab. We went record shopping on record store day, you can read about that in my weekly wrap-up post from yesterday. My husband collects records in the same way I collect books so our house is getting a bit full with both of our collections but at least we understand each other’s hobby!

In terms of blogging it’s been a good month. I was thrilled to have a few of my reviews from this month move into my most liked posts on my sidebar – and even had the top spot change a couple of times. First SweetPea got there and that was then knocked into the number two spot by See What I Have Done. Yesterday I got a notification telling me that I’d had my most likes in one day ever so that was lovely to read. I don’t obsess over my stats but it’s always nice to have a gauge that my blog is steadily growing as time goes by. I was also thrilled to discover that my review of See What I Have Done has been quoted on the new Lounge Books website, it made my day!

 

Here are the 19 books I read this month:

First Love by Gwendoline Riley

One of Us by Asne Seierstad

Deconstructing Dirty Dancing by Stephen Lee Naish

Good as Gone by Amy Gentry

SweetPea by C.J. Skuse

The Cows by Dawn O’Porter

The Power by Naomi Alderman

The Affair by Amanda Brooke

The People at Number 9 by Felicity Everett

This Love by Dani Atkins

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

No Turning Back by Tracy Buchanan

Luuurve is a Many Trousered Thing by Louise Rennison

He Said / She Said by Erin Kelly

Titanic Lives by Richard Davenport-Hines

Radio Silence by Alice Oseman

The Bookshop by Penelope Fitzgerald

Foxlowe by Eleanor Wasserberg

The Wild Air by Rebecca Mascull

April Blog Posts & Reviews

I managed to write and post eight reviews in April, which isn’t quite the three per week I was hoping to achieve but an average of two a week isn’t too bad. I did also post my regular posts: WWW Wednesday, Stacking the Shelves and Weekly Wrap-Up every week, which I’m happy about. Then I was lucky enough to interview two authors for my blog this month, and I got to feature a lovely author’s guest post. So all-in-all I’m happy with how many posts I shared on my blog this month but I would like to try and get some more reviews written and posted in May if I can.

Here are my reviews from April:

Good as Gone by Amy Gentry

Deconstructing Dirty Dancing by Stephen Lee Naish

The Cows by Dawn O’Porter

SweetPea by C.J. Skuse

Swimming Lessons by Claire Fuller

The Affair by Amanda Brooke

This Love by Dani Atkins

See What I Have Done by Sarah Schmidt

 

Here are the author interviews I was lucky enough to do in April:

Jennifer Gilmour, author of Isolation Junction

Kay Langdale, author of The Comfort of Others

 

I also featured a guest post on my blog in April:

Lynda Renham, author of Remember Me, wrote a guest post about changing genres for her new novel

 

the-state-of-my-2

The state of my TBR:

The state of my TBR is something I’m starting to wish I’d never shared on my blog as every month I’m becoming more aware of how little willpower I have when it comes to books! I started the year with 1885 books on my TBR (these are all books that I own but haven’t read yet) and as of the end of April I now have 1933 unread books! I’m very aware that the number is going in completely the wrong direction but have so far being quite powerless to stop it.

I joined the Mount TBR challenge on Goodreads a little while ago and challenged myself to read at least 100 books that were on my TBR before the start of this year. I began to realise that I would struggle with getting my TBR reduced (although I am still trying to work on that) so am now trying to at least make sure that I’m reading a similar number of books I’ve owned a while to the new books I acquire. I’ve so far read 90 books this year and 41 were on my TBR before the start of 2017 so I’m happy with that ratio and hope to keep it up.

 

 

How was your April? I hope you all had a good month and that you read good books. Did you read many books? What was your favourite book of the month? Please tell me in the comments, I’d love to know. Also, if you have a blog please feel free to leave a link to your month’s wrap-up post and I’ll be sure to read and comment back. 🙂

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. 🙂

WWW Wednesday (19 April) What are you reading today?

Posted on by

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:

Titanic Lives by Richard Davenport-Hines

This is my current audio book and I’m finding it really interesting. I’m over a quarter of the way through it and it really is focusing on various people involved in the Titanic – be it the wealthy people who would be traveling or the shipbuilders that worked on Titanic before she set sail.

The Comfort of Others by Kay Langdale

I’m on the blog tour for this next week and am interviewing Kay Langdale for that. I really wanted to read the book before then so I could also review the book if I can, and I have to say that this is a beautiful novel that I’m very much enjoying.

He Said/She Said by Erin Kelly

I had to put this book to one side for the last few days as I just haven’t been in the right frame of mind to read in this genre. I picked it up again last night though and found it very hard to put down so I’m sure I’ll be finishing this and writing my review very soon.

How to Survive a Plague by David France

This is such an interesting book – the way France has looked at the scientists, the doctors and the patients makes sure that this remains a very human book. It’s so powerful and incredibly moving.

 

What I recently finished reading:

This Love by Dani Atkins

I finished reading this book yesterday afternoon and then spent 20 mins sobbing. It’s not often that a book affects me so much but I really got caught up in this novel. Once I’ve got myself composed I will be writing a glowing review of this gorgeous book.

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

This was my recent audio book and I really did enjoy it. I bought it in a daily deal on a whim and I’m glad I did. It may seem a bit strange to read a book about running when I can barely even walk but I actually got a lot out of this book and would recommend it.

The People at Number 9 by Felicity Everett

I had an ebook review copy of this book but decided to listen to the audio book and found the book much more engaging on audio. I’m in the middle of writing up my review now so hope to share that on my blog very soon.

The Affair by Amanda Brooke

I’ve already reviewed this book on my blog so you can read that here if you’d like to. I really enjoyed reading this book, it had more to the story than I was expecting and I’d recommend it.

 

What I plan on reading next:

The Wild Air by Rebecca Mascull

I was so excited when I was offered this book for review and I just can’t wait any longer to read it, it sounds amazing!

Block 42 by Johana Gustawsson

I’m on the blog tour for this book at the start of May and have been looking forward to reading it ever since I first heard about it. I think this is going to be one of those impossible to put down books!

 

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 (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. 🙂

WWW Wednesday (12 April)

Posted on by

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:

He Said/She Said by Erin Kelly

I only started reading this late last night but I can see it’s going to be one of those books that has me hooked. I already can’t wait to get back to it (and will be picking it up as soon as I have this post written and scheduled)!

This Love by Dani Atkins

I was sent this gorgeous paperback for review recently and am absolutely loving it. I keep thinking of the characters when I’m not reading it, which is always the sign of an amazing book.

How to Survive a Plague by David France

This is such an interesting book, I’m so glad I spotted it on the Wellcome prize and decided to buy it. It’s a long book so I’ll probably be reading it for quite a while but I wouldn’t hesitate to recommend it already!

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

This is my current audiobook. It may seem a strange book for someone who can’t walk to want to listen to a book about running but I thought my struggles to walk a few steps might have something in common with training for a marathon. This book is so much for than I thought it was going to be and I think it will become one of those rare books that I listen to more than once. The thoughts and philosophy in this book are just wonderful.

 

 

What I recently finished reading:

The Cows by Dawn O’Porter

I loved this book, it’s absolutely brilliant and I highly recommend it. I’m actually on the blog tour for this book today so you should be able to see my review now.

The Power by Naomi Alderman

I finished this a couple of days ago and I’m still not sure how I feel about it. I enjoyed it but I’m not sure that I’d have managed to finish it if I’d not swapped from reading it to listening to it. I did receive a review copy of this so I will be attempting to review it as soon as I can.

Sweet Pea by C.J. Skuse

This book is so good, I loved it. I’m mid-way through writing my review now so I hope to get that posted soon. I can’t recommend the book highly enough though.

 

What I plan on reading next:

The three books below that I hope to read this week. I haven’t actually showed these books in a book haul yet so I will be writing more about these books in my Stacking the Shelves post on Saturday.

Gone by Min Kym

I was really pleased to get approved for this on NetGalley earlier this week as it sounds like a fascinating read. I’m very much looking forward to reading it.

 

The Hate U Give by Angie Thomas

I’ve heard so many great things about this book that I couldn’t resist treating myself at the weekend. I really want to get to read it this week

 

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.