Reading Review: May 2017

Welcome to my Monthly Reading Review.
This post is my attempt to keep track of how I’m doing with my reading challenges and resolutions.

BOOKS I’VE READ

The Aeronaut’s Windlass by Jim Butcher

Apple Tree Yard by Louise Doughty

Total Library Books Read This Month: 2
Total Own Books Read This Month: 0
Overall Total Books Read This Month: 2

Total Library Books Read 2017: 12
Total Own Books Read 2017: 1
Overall Total Books Read 2017: 13

MY READ OF THE MONTH

The Aeronaut’s Windlass by Jim Butcher is May’s Read of the Month. It was unique, with some great characters, and the talking cats just added that little something extra.
Had I started See What I Have Done by Sarah Schmidt earlier in the month and had it finished in May I’m sure that would have been a contender too, because the writing so far is atmospheric and beautifully eerie.

BEAT THE BACKLIST

My total for this challenge is currently 9 books read. So far I’ve read:

Cell by Stephen King
Golden Hill by Francis Spufford
The Trees by Ali Shaw
The Book of Speculation by Erika Swyler
The Muse by Jessie Burton
North and South by John Jakes
The Autumn Republic by Brian McClellan
The Aeronaut’s Windlass by Jim Butcher
Apple Tree Yard by Louise Doughty

I originally set myself a target of 8 books for this challenge, so this month I’ve actually reached and surpassed that target. I’m really pleased as I usually end up neglecting older books in favour of new releases, so I didn’t know how I would do when I first signed up for the challenge. I’m going to keep going and see how many I end up with. I think for now I’ll set a new target of 10 books for the year.

GOODREADS

I’ve set myself a low target for this year of 20 books. So far I’ve read 13 books.

GOALS

I participated in Bout of Books 19, which was really good, and am on the lookout for other reading events taking place.

I reached my initial Beat the Backlist target of 8 books, so I’ve now decided to try for 10 Backlist reads this year.

I’m keeping up with most of my reviews.

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So concludes May’s Reading Review. See you again next month.

Bout of Books 19 (May 2017) Goals and Daily Progress Updates

The Bout of Books read-a-thon is organized by Amanda Shofner and Kelly @ Reading the Paranormal. It is a week long read-a-thon that begins 12:01am Monday, May 8th and runs through Sunday, May 14th in whatever time zone you are in. Bout of Books is low-pressure. There are challenges, giveaways, and a grand prize, but all of these are completely optional. For all Bout of Books 19 information and updates, be sure to visit the Bout of Books blog. – From the Bout of Books team

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Time for another edition of one of my favourite readathons.
Bout of Books is here once again and I cannot wait to share the next week of reading with everyone taking part in the event.

I’ll be using this blog for the majority of my updates during the read-a-thon, but you can also find me on Twitter (link in the sidebar).

Time Devoted to Reading

Half an hour per day, minimum. Maximum? Well, there’s no limit really.

My Goals

• To carry on reading The Aeronaut’s Windlass
• To maybe start a new read (but as yet I have no idea what that will be)
• To keep track of my reading progress via daily blog updates
• To visit other blogs and comment regularly

Books to Read

• The Aeronaut’s Windlass by Jim Butcher
• ???

Updates

Monday

Bout of Books time!  I’m hoping to get some reading time in this afternoon.

Tuesday (Monday’s Progress)

Had a decent afternoon of reading and managed to get through 50 pages.  I think I’ll probably finish The Aeronaut’s Windlass before the end of the readathon, but at the moment I have NO idea what I fancy reading next.  Hm…

Number of pages I’ve read today:  50
Total number of pages I’ve read:  50

Wednesday (Tuesday’s progress)

Not such a great reading for reading today, but at least I managed a few pages.

Number of pages I’ve read today:  10
Total number of pages I’ve read:  60

Thursday (Wednesday’s progress)

I’ve had so much to do today that I haven’t managed to read a single page.  I don’t think I’ve ever read so little during Bout of Books before!

Number of pages I’ve read today:  0
Total number of pages I’ve read:  60

Friday (Thursday’s progress)

At last, I have some reading progress to report. I finished reading The Aeronaut’s Windlass this afternoon, and really enjoyed it. Hopefully it won’t be too long before I have a review up on the blog.
And I finally settled on something new to read, based on nothing other than of all the library books I currently have checked out there is now a request on Apple Tree Yard by Louise Doughty, so I’d better get started on that as it will have to go back.

Number of pages I’ve read today:  65
Total number of pages I’ve read:  125

Saturday (Friday’s progress)

Another pretty slow day of reading.  At least I have the weekend to look forward to.

Number of pages I’ve read today:  0
Total number of pages I’ve read:  125

Sunday (Saturday’s progress)

Managed a lovely long reading session today, which saw me through the first 100 pages of Apple Tree Yard. I missed this when it was on tv, so have little idea what to expect as the book synopsis was pretty vague. Hopefully I’ll be able to read for a long time on the final Bout of Books day and really get into my book.
How is everyone else doing so far?

Number of pages I’ve read today:  100
Total number of pages I’ve read:  225

Monday (Sunday’s progress and final thoughts)

Final Summary posted HERE.

Reading Review: April 2017

Welcome to my Monthly Reading Review.
This post is my attempt to keep track of how I’m doing with my reading challenges and resolutions.

Books I’ve Read

The Autumn Republic by Brian McClellan

Sins of Empire by Brian McClellan

Total Library Books Read This Month: 2
Total Own Books Read This Month: 0
Overall Total Books Read This Month: 2

Total Library Books Read 2017: 10
Total Own Books Read 2017: 1
Overall Total Books Read 2017: 11

My Read of the Month

How can I choose? Really? It’s an impossible task this month.   I’ve read two books, both by the same author.
The Autumn Republic was the conclusion of the Powder Mage trilogy and was a wonderful way to wrap up that series.
Sins of Empire is the start of a new series set in the same world but years later and it was also a great beginning. There’s just no choosing between them.

Beat the Backlist

My total for this challenge is currently 7 books read. So far I’ve read:

Cell by Stephen King
Golden Hill by Francis Spufford
The Trees by Ali Shaw
The Book of Speculation by Erika Swyler
The Muse by Jessie Burton
North and South by John Jakes
The Autumn Republic by Brian McClellan

Goodreads

I’ve set myself a low target for this year of 20 books. So far I’ve read 11 books.

Goals

I’m sticking making a decent effort at my main reading challenge for the year, Beat the Backlist. My current total stands at 7 books read.

I’m keeping up with most of my reviews.

I’ll be taking part in the next Bout of Books, which I’m looking forward to (I love a good readathon).

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So concludes April’s Reading Review. See you again next month.

Reading Review: March 2017

Welcome back to my Monthly Reading Review. This post is my attempt to keep track of how I’m doing with my reading challenges and resolutions.

BOOKS I’VE READ

Norse Mythology by Neil Gaiman

North and South by John Jakes

Hold Back the Stars by Katie Khan

Total Library Books Read This Month: 2
Total Own Books Read This Month: 1
Overall Total Books Read This Month: 3

Total Library Books Read 2017: 8
Total Own Books Read 2017: 1
Overall Total Books Read 2017: 9

MY READ OF THE MONTH

North and South by John Jakes.
It’s the first book of a trilogy about the Mains and the Hazards, two families drawn together by great friendship who will find themselves fighting on opposing sides during the American Civil War. This first book is over 800 pages and covers the years before the war begins. I’ll definitely be reading the next book, which is over 1000 pages long, but I might choose a few shorter books to read first!

BEAT THE BACKLIST

My total for this challenge is currently 6 books read. So far I’ve read:

Cell by Stephen King
Golden Hill by Francis Spufford
The Trees by Ali Shaw
The Book of Speculation by Erika Swyler
The Muse by Jessie Burton
North and South by John Jakes

GOODREADS

I’ve set myself a low target for this year of 20 books. So far I’ve read 9 books.

GOALS

I’m sticking making a decent effort at my main reading challenge for the year, Beat the Backlist. My current total stands at 6 books read.

I’m still posting my reviews fairly soon after finishing the book.

I’m also keeping up with my Monthly Updates.

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So concludes March’s Reading Review. See you again next month.

Reading Review: February 2017

Welcome back to my Monthly Reading Review. This post is my attempt to keep track of how I’m doing with my reading challenges and resolutions.

Books I’ve Read

The Book of Speculation by Erika Swyler

The Muse by Jessie Burton

Caraval by Stephanie Garber

Total Library Books Read This Month: 3
Total Own Books Read This Month: 0
Overall Total Books Read This Month: 3

Total Library Books Read 2017: 6
Total Own Books Read 2017: 0
Overall Total Books Read 2017: 6

My Read of the Month

The Muse by Jessie Burton.
This read was a totally unexpected surprise. I wasn’t sure what to read next, the book was at the top of my pile and the striking cover caught my eye so I thought I’d give it a go.
And from those very first pages I was totally engrossed. What a great read!

Beat the Backlist

My total for this challenge is currently 5 books read. So far I’ve read:

Cell by Stephen King
Golden Hill by Francis Spufford
The Trees by Ali Shaw
The Book of Speculation by Erika Swyler
The Muse by Jessie Burton

Goodreads

I’ve set myself a low target for this year of 20 books. So far I’ve read 6 books.

Goals

I’m sticking making a decent effort at my main reading challenge for the year, Beat the Backlist. My current total stands at 5 books read.

I’m still posting my reviews fairly soon after finishing the book.

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So concludes February’s Reading Review. See you again next month.

Reading Review: January 2017

Welcome back to my Monthly Reading Review. This post is my attempt to keep track of how I’m doing with my reading challenges and resolutions.

Books I’ve Read

Cell by Stephen King

Golden Hill by Francis Spufford

The Trees by Ali Shaw

Total Library Books Read This Month: 3
Total Own Books Read This Month: 0
Overall Total Books Read This Month: 3

Total Library Books Read 2017: 3
Total Own Books Read 2017: 0
Overall Total Books Read 2017: 3

My Read of the Month

Let’s add something new here, I thought to myself.
Maybe highlight a favourite read of the month, I thought.
That was before I went on to have a great start to the reading year and now find myself with an almost impossible choice for my read of the month. Any of the books I’ve listed above are really good.
After much deliberation I’m going to choose…

The Trees by Ali Shaw, because it was the first book of the year to make me cry (just a tiny little bit). The scene in question, well, I guess I should have seen it coming actually but I didn’t, not for a minute. Can’t say more without spoiling the moment and I wouldn’t want to do that.

Beat the Backlist

My total for this challenge is currently 3 books read. So far I’ve read:

Cell by Stephen King
Golden Hill by Francis Spufford
The Trees by Ali Shaw

Goodreads

I’ve set myself a low target for this year of 20 books. So far I’ve read 3 book.

Goals

I’ve actually really taken to my main reading challenge for the year, Beat the Backlist, and have read 3 Books so far from my backlist.

I also managed to post reviews for each book very soon after completing the book.

I feel like I’ve updated fairly regularly for the first month of this new year.

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So concludes January’s Reading Review. See you again next month.

Bout of Books 18 (January 2017) Goals and Daily Progress Updates

The Bout of Books read-a-thon is organized by Amanda Shofner and Kelly @ Reading the Paranormal. It is a week long read-a-thon that begins 12:01am Monday, January 2nd and runs through Sunday, January 8th in whatever time zone you are in. Bout of Books is low-pressure. There are challenges, giveaways, and a grand prize, but all of these are completely optional. For all Bout of Books 18 information and updates, be sure to visit the Bout of Books blog. – From the Bout of Books team

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A new year, aTBR list with an endless list of (hopefully) great books? Sounds like the perfect time for a read-a-thon to me!
Yes, it’s Bout of Books time once again, and what better way is there to go into a new year of reading?

I’ll be using this blog for the majority of my updates during the read-a-thon, but you can also find me on Twitter (link in the sidebar).

Time Devoted to Reading

I’ll say my usual half an hour as a minimum, but hopefully this is be a LOT more.

My Goals

• To start reading Cell by Stephen King
• To keep track of my reading progress via daily blog updates
• To visit other blogs and comment regularly

Books to Read

Cell by Stephen King

Updates

Monday

Bout of Books time again!  I’m looking forward to some quality reading time today, and can’t wait to start my first read of the year.

Tuesday (Monday’s Progress)

Managed to spend a lovely afternoon reading yesterday, and made a good start with Cell.  I wanted to read this book because I saw the film not long ago and while I enjoyed it, it left me with questions, so I thought I’d see how the book tells the story, and whether it gives explanations to the things I was wondering about.  So far, so good.

Number of pages I’ve read today:  75
Total number of pages I’ve read:  75

Wednesday (Tuesday’s progress)

This book must be good because I managed to read over 100 pages yesterday.  I can’t remember the last time that happened recently.  At the end of last year my reading pace was really slow and it seemed to takes ages to finish a book.

Number of pages I’ve read today:
Total number of pages I’ve read:

Thursday (Wednesday’s progress)

I’ve come across some great scenes in Cell which I wish had made it into the film, although there’s been at least one character’s demise which was pretty disgusting. At this point I think I’m enjoying the book slightly more than the film. Can’t wait to see what the ending is like.

Number of pages I’ve read today:  100
Total number of pages I’ve read:  300

Friday (Thursday’s progress)

It had to happen, that there would come the day when I didn’t get chance to read anything at all. There’s always at least one during the readathon.
Still, at least that gives me plenty more story to enjoy, and hopefully I’ll have chance to read much more tomorrow.

Number of pages I’ve read today:  0
Total number of pages I’ve read:  300

Saturday (Friday’s progress)

Another pretty slow day of reading.  At least I have the weekend to look forward to.

Number of pages I’ve read today:  20
Total number of pages I’ve read:  320

Sunday (Saturday’s progress)

Well here’s something unexpected… I finished my first read of 2017 during Bout of Books. I had such a great afternoon with plenty of time to devote to reading Cell. As the story went on it became one of those books I really didn’t want to put down because I had to know how it was all going to turn out.
And now I know.
And I’m pretty sad to have reached the end because I could have read so much more about those characters.

Am now off to have a look through my endless TBR list/pile and find something new to start for the final day of the readathon.

Number of pages I’ve read today:  153
Total number of pages I’ve read:  473

Monday (Sunday’s progress and final thoughts)

Final Summary posted here.