Reading Review: November 2019

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 Haunting of Hill House by Shirley Jackson

Bone China by Laura Purcell

Full Throttle by Joe Hill

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 2019: 26
Total Own Books Read 2019: 3
Overall Total Books Read 2019: 29

MY READ OF THE MONTH

     

It’s a hard choice this month and I can’t really choose between Bone China by Laura Purcell and Full Throttle by Joe Hill so I’m going to have to choose them both.

BEAT THE BACKLIST

My total for this challenge is currently 11 books read.   So far I’ve read:

The Adventure of the Christmas Pudding (Poirot #35) by Agatha Christie
The Stranger Diaries by Elly Griffiths
The Psychology of Time Travel by Kate Mascarenhas
The Girl in the Tower by Katherine Arden
Taken at the Flood (Poirot #28) by Agatha Christie
The Murder of Roger Ackroyd (Poirot #4) by Agatha Christie
The Woman in the Woods by John Connolly
Good Omens by Terry Pratchett and Neil Gaiman
A Head Full of Ghosts by Paul Tremblay
Shiang (Empire of Salt #2) by C. V. Iggulden
The Haunting of Hill House by Shirley Jackson

This year I’m having a go a something a little different – Beat the Backlist Bingo. I have no idea how many of these boxes I’ll manage to tick but it’s a little extra to add to my challenge.

  

 

Book with under 1000 Ratings on GoodReads – 830 for The Stranger Diaries at time of Completion.

Part of a trilogy – The Girl in the Tower by Katherine Arden

New-to-me Author – Kate Mascarenhas with The Psychology of Time Travel

Cover with your Favourite Colour – Taken at the Flood (Poirot #28) by Agatha Christie

Title is a Name – In this case, the title contains the name – The Murder of Roger Ackroyd (Poirot #4) by Agatha Christie

Over 400 pages – The Woman in the Woods by John Connolly is 496 pages

Book to movie/show – Good Omens by Terry Pratchett and Neil Gaiman

Cover art redesign – A Head Full of Ghosts by Paul Tremblay

One word title – Shiang (Empire of Salt #2) by C. V. Iggulden

On your TBR for 2+ years – The Haunting of Hill House by Shirley Jackson

GOODREADS

So far this year I’ve read 29 books.

GOALS

• I’ve managed to keep up with my reviews and post quite promptly this month.

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

Reading Review: October 2019

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 Institute by Stephen King

A Little Hatred (The Age of Madness #1) by Joe Abercrombie

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 2019: 23
Total Own Books Read 2019: 3
Overall Total Books Read 2019: 26

MY READ OF THE MONTH

Tough choice because I enjoyed both the books I finished this month. I’m going to say The Institute by Stephen King.

BEAT THE BACKLIST

My total for this challenge is currently 10 books read.   So far I’ve read:

The Adventure of the Christmas Pudding (Poirot #35) by Agatha Christie
The Stranger Diaries by Elly Griffiths
The Psychology of Time Travel by Kate Mascarenhas
The Girl in the Tower by Katherine Arden
Taken at the Flood (Poirot #28) by Agatha Christie
The Murder of Roger Ackroyd (Poirot #4) by Agatha Christie
The Woman in the Woods by John Connolly
Good Omens by Terry Pratchett and Neil Gaiman
A Head Full of Ghosts by Paul Tremblay
Shiang (Empire of Salt #2) by C. V. Iggulden

This year I’m having a go a something a little different – Beat the Backlist Bingo. I have no idea how many of these boxes I’ll manage to tick but it’s a little extra to add to my challenge.

  

 

Book with under 1000 Ratings on GoodReads – 830 for The Stranger Diaries at time of Completion.

Part of a trilogy – The Girl in the Tower by Katherine Arden

New-to-me Author – Kate Mascarenhas with The Psychology of Time Travel

Cover with your Favourite Colour – Taken at the Flood (Poirot #28) by Agatha Christie

Title is a Name – In this case, the title contains the name – The Murder of Roger Ackroyd (Poirot #4) by Agatha Christie

Over 400 pages – The Woman in the Woods by John Connolly is 496 pages

Book to movie/show – Good Omens by Terry Pratchett and Neil Gaiman

Cover art redesign – A Head Full of Ghosts by Paul Tremblay

One word title – Shiang (Empire of Salt #2) by C. V. Iggulden

GOODREADS

So far this year I’ve read 26 books.

GOALS

• Participated in Readers Imbibing Peril throughout September and October.

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

Reading Review: September 2019

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

           

A Head Full of Ghosts by Paul Tremblay

Shiang (Empire of Salt #2) by C. F. Iggulden

The Sword Saint (Empire of Salt #3) by C. F. Iggulden

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 2019: 21
Total Own Books Read 2019: 3
Overall Total Books Read 2019: 24

MY READ OF THE MONTH

     

It’s a tie between the Empire of Salt books this month I think. Reading them so close together makes it difficult to choose between the two!

BEAT THE BACKLIST

My total for this challenge is currently 10 books read.   So far I’ve read:

The Adventure of the Christmas Pudding (Poirot #35) by Agatha Christie
The Stranger Diaries by Elly Griffiths
The Psychology of Time Travel by Kate Mascarenhas
The Girl in the Tower by Katherine Arden
Taken at the Flood (Poirot #28) by Agatha Christie
The Murder of Roger Ackroyd (Poirot #4) by Agatha Christie
The Woman in the Woods by John Connolly
Good Omens by Terry Pratchett and Neil Gaiman
A Head Full of Ghosts by Paul Tremblay
Shiang (Empire of Salt #2) by C. V. Iggulden

This year I’m having a go a something a little different – Beat the Backlist Bingo. I have no idea how many of these boxes I’ll manage to tick but it’s a little extra to add to my challenge.

  

 

Book with under 1000 Ratings on GoodReads – 830 for The Stranger Diaries at time of Completion.

Part of a trilogy – The Girl in the Tower by Katherine Arden

New-to-me Author – Kate Mascarenhas with The Psychology of Time Travel

Cover with your Favourite Colour – Taken at the Flood (Poirot #28) by Agatha Christie

Title is a Name – In this case, the title contains the name – The Murder of Roger Ackroyd (Poirot #4) by Agatha Christie

Over 400 pages – The Woman in the Woods by John Connolly is 496 pages

Book to movie/show – Good Omens by Terry Pratchett and Neil Gaiman

Cover art redesign – A Head Full of Ghosts by Paul Tremblay

One word title – Shiang (Empire of Salt #2) by C. V. Iggulden

GOODREADS

So far this year I’ve read 24 books.

GOALS

• I added two more titles to my Backlist challenge.
• Signed up for the ongoing Readers Imbibing Peril and have made progress with the Peril on the Screen part.

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

Readers Imbibing Peril XIV – #RIPXIV

The days are growing cooler and the nights are beginning to draw in, which can mean only one thing – Autumn is on its way! I love this time of year, so what better way to mark the changing seasons than by participating in a suitably eerie Readathon? Two whole months of reading to enjoy. Want to know more about RIPXIV? Here you go…

Welcome to the FOURTEENTH year of Readers Imbibing Peril, or RIP, as it is affectionately called. The challenge runs from 1st September to 31st October. You can find full info by visiting the Readers Imbibing Peril blog.

The purpose of the R.I.P. Challenge is to enjoy books that could be classified as:

Mystery
Suspense
Thriller
Dark Fantasy
Gothic
Horror
Supernatural

The goals are simple.

1. Have fun reading.
2. Share that fun with others.

Multiple perils await you. You can participate in just one, or participate in them all. Check out the Readers Imbibing Peril  blog and pick your particular peril.

As a starting point I’ll aim for…

Peril the Second:

Read two books of any length that you believe fit within the challenge categories.

Peril on the Screen:

This is for those of us who like to watch suitably scary, eerie, mysterious gothic fare during this time of year. It may be something on the small screen or large. It might be a television show, like Dark Shadows, or your favorite film.

Hopefully by the end of the event I’ll have managed…

Peril the First:

Read four books, any length, that you feel fit (our very broad definitions) of R.I.P. literature. It could be Stephen King or Sir Arthur Conan Doyle, Shirley Jackson or Tananarive Due…or anyone in between.

A Potential TBR List

I don’t have a definite reading/viewing plan at the moment, but glancing through my TBR pile/list, a few books have caught my attention, so I may read a selection from the following:

Halloween Party by Agatha Christie
Bone China by Laura Purcell
The Institute by Stephen King
Melmoth by Sarah Perry
Nevernight by Jay Kristoff
NOS4R2 by Joe Hill
Dracul by Dacre Stoker and J. D. Barker
Something by Shirley Jackson
The Secret History by Donna Tartt
The Feed by Nick Clark Windo
While You Sleep by Stephanie Merritt

Progress

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I’m really looking forward to one of my favourite reading events during my favourite season. Are you tempted to join in with #RIPXIV?

Reading Review: August 2019

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

     

Good Omens by Terry Pratchett and Neil Gaiman

The Escape Room by Megan Goldin

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 2019: 18
Total Own Books Read 2019: 3
Overall Total Books Read 2019: 21

MY READ OF THE MONTH

Good Omens by Terry Pratchett and Neil Gaiman. It was such a different read, and has led to me wanting to read more by both these authors.

BEAT THE BACKLIST

My total for this challenge is currently 8 books read. I’ve really fallen behind on this challenge at the moment, but I’d like to try and add at least a few more to this total. So far I’ve read:

The Adventure of the Christmas Pudding (Poirot #35) by Agatha Christie
The Stranger Diaries by Elly Griffiths
The Psychology of Time Travel by Kate Mascarenhas
The Girl in the Tower by Katherine Arden
Taken at the Flood (Poirot #28) by Agatha Christie
The Murder of Roger Ackroyd (Poirot #4) by Agatha Christie
The Woman in the Woods by John Connolly
Good Omens by Terry Pratchett and Neil Gaiman

This year I’m having a go a something a little different – Beat the Backlist Bingo. I have no idea how many of these boxes I’ll manage to tick but it’s a little extra to add to my challenge.

  

Book with under 1000 Ratings on GoodReads – 830 for The Stranger Diaries at time of Completion.

Part of a trilogy – The Girl in the Tower by Katherine Arden

New-to-me Author – Kate Mascarenhas with The Psychology of Time Travel

Cover with your Favourite Colour – Taken at the Flood (Poirot #28) by Agatha Christie

Title is a Name – In this case, the title contains the name – The Murder of Roger Ackroyd (Poirot #4) by Agatha Christie

Over 400 pages – The Woman in the Woods by John Connolly is 496 pages

Book to movie/show – Good Omens by Terry Pratchett and Neil Gaiman

GOODREADS

So far this year I’ve read 21 books. I met my Goodreads challenge target of 20 books!

GOALS

• Added to my Backlist challenge.
• Discovered a new-to-me author this month in Terry Pratchett. I’d like to read more of his novels but am undecided as to whether I should start at the beginning and go in order, or whether I can pick at random and go for a story that appeals.
• Participated in the Bout of Books read-a-thon.

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

Bout of Books 26 (August 2019) Goals and Daily Progress Updates

The Bout of Books read-a-thon is organized by Amanda Shofner and Kelly Rubidoux Apple. It is a week long read-a-thon that begins 12:01am Monday, August 19th and runs through Sunday, August 25th in whatever time zone you are in. Bout of Books is low-pressure. There are challenges, Twitter chats, and a grand prize, but all of these are completely optional. For all Bout of Books 26 information and updates, be sure to visit the Bout of Books blog. – From the Bout of Books team

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It’s time for a week of read-a-thon-ing! I’m looking forward to the latest Bout of Books as I’ve hopefully chosen some good books and I enjoy the daily reading updates on my blog.

As always I’ll be using this blog for updates during the read-a-thon.

Time Devoted to Reading

Hopefully at least half an hour each day, but ideally more…

My Goals

• To finish one book and start another.
• To keep track of my reading progress via daily updates
• To visit other blogs and comment regularly

Books to Read

• Shiang by C. F. Iggulden
• The Sword Saint by C. F. Iggulden
• A Head Full of Ghosts by Paul Tremblay

Updates

Monday

It’s Bout of Books time! Hopefully I’ll manage to make a good start so there’ll be something to mention in the way of progress tomorrow.

Tuesday (Monday’s Progress)

So, how was your first day of the read-a-thon?
I started Shiang and managed to read the first 50 pages. It’s a while since I read the first book in the series, Darien, but so far I’m really enjoying this one. I can’t believe it took so long for me to pick this up, and I already have the following book, The Sword Saint, just waiting for my reading attention.

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

Wednesday (Tuesday’s progress)

More progress on Shiang. I’m enjoying this book so far. If I do manage to finish it during this Bout of Books I’ll probably move straight on to the next in the series.

Number of pages I’ve read today:  65
Total number of pages I’ve read:  115

Thursday (Wednesday’s progress)

No reading progress to report today.

Number of pages I’ve read today:  0
Total number of pages I’ve read:  115

Friday (Thursday’s progress)

After a day of no reading I made better progress. I’ve finished A Head Full of Ghosts. I’ll probably post more on this book once Bout of Books is over.
For now, it’s back to reading Shiang.

Number of pages I’ve read today:  75
Total number of pages I’ve read:  190

Saturday (Friday’s progress)

Another day with no reading. Not good.

Number of pages I’ve read today:  0
Total number of pages I’ve read:  190

Sunday (Saturday’s progress)

Another 50 pages read. Not sure whether I’ll finish my latest read before the read-a-thon ends but I’ll have a go.

Number of pages I’ve read today:  50
Total number of pages I’ve read:  240

Monday (Sunday’s progress and final thoughts)

Final Summary posted HERE.

 

Reading Review: July 2019

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

     

A Book of Bones by John Connolly

Twisted by Steve Cavanagh

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 2019: 16
Total Own Books Read 2019: 3
Overall Total Books Read 2019: 19

MY READ OF THE MONTH

I think this month it has to be Twisted by Steve Cavanagh. I found it really hard to put this book down, and every time I thought I’d worked out who/what/why, the story went off in another direction that I’d never thought of.

BEAT THE BACKLIST

My total for this challenge is currently 7 books read. I’ve really fallen behind on this challenge at the moment, but I’d like to try and add at least a few more to this total. So far I’ve read:

The Adventure of the Christmas Pudding (Poirot #35) by Agatha Christie
The Stranger Diaries by Elly Griffiths
The Psychology of Time Travel by Kate Mascarenhas
The Girl in the Tower by Katherine Arden
Taken at the Flood (Poirot #28) by Agatha Christie
The Murder of Roger Ackroyd (Poirot #4) by Agatha Christie
The Woman in the Woods by John Connolly

This year I’m having a go a something a little different – Beat the Backlist Bingo. I have no idea how many of these boxes I’ll manage to tick but it’s a little extra to add to my challenge.

  

Book with under 1000 Ratings on GoodReads – 830 for The Stranger Diaries at time of Completion.

Part of a trilogy – The Girl in the Tower by Katherine Arden

New-to-me Author – Kate Mascarenhas with The Psychology of Time Travel

Cover with your Favourite Colour – Taken at the Flood (Poirot #28) by Agatha Christie

Title is a Name – In this case, the title contains the name – The Murder of Roger Ackroyd (Poirot #4) by Agatha Christie

Over 400 pages – The Woman in the Woods by John Connolly is 496 pages

GOODREADS

So far this year I’ve read 19 books.

GOALS

• Discovered a new-to-me author this month in Steven Cavanagh.
• I’ve posted my reviews quite promptly throughout the month, even though there haven’t been many as I’m reading quite slowly lately.
• I’m keeping up with my monthly update posts to keep track of my reading.

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