Reading Review: February 2021

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

NOS4A2 by Joe Hill

The Gunslinger (The Dark Tower #1) by Stephen King

An Eye for an Eye (DI Kate Young #1) by Carol Wyer

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

Total Library Books Read 2021: 0
Total Own Books Read 2021: 4
Overall Total Books Read 2021: 4

MY READ OF THE MONTH

It’s very close, having to choose between NOS4A2 and The Gunslinger, but I’m going for NOS4A2. The conflict between Vic McQueen and Charlie Manx, the creepy Christmasland, the whole idea of the inscapes, all of this made NOS4A2 a great read.

BEAT THE BACKLIST

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

The Ten Thousand Doors of January by Alix E. Harrow
NOS4A2 by Joe Hill
The Gunslinger (The Dark Tower #1) by Stephen King

Beat the Backlist Bingo is making another appearance this year. I have no idea how many categories I’ll manage to complete but it’s a little extra to add to my challenge.

Standalone – The Ten Thousand Doors of January by Alix E. Harrow

A book with illustrations – NOS4A2 by Joe Hill – There is an illustration of the Christmasland advert that first attracts Bing Partridge’s attention, and it also has Vic’s various bikes and Manx’s Wraith between paragraphs. I could also have used this for the ‘map’ prompt as there’s the United Inscapes of America map as well.

Kept you up late reading (definitely not a book you can easily put down) – The Gunslinger (The Dark Tower #1) by Stephen King

From the 52 Prompts List…

You can find the complete prompts list here.

The Ten Thousand Doors of January by Alix E. Harrow – Standalone

NOS4A2 by Joe Hill – A book with illustrations

The Gunslinger (The Dark Tower #1) by Stephen King – Kept you up late reading

GOODREADS

I’ve read 4 books so far this year.

GOALS

• I’ve read a book that I’ve owned for absolutely ages in NOS4A2 by Joe Hill and can’t believe that I waited so long to finally pick it up.
• I went for a bit of mood reading in picking up the first of the Dark Tower books, The Gunslinger by Stephen King. I’ve talked for a while about wanting to reread this series and I was in the mood for something a little Weird West-ish so thought I’d begin.
• My Beat the Backlist challenge continues and both of the books mentioned above count towards this challenge and I‘ve managed to find bingo categories for them too.
• I’m continuing my monthly update posts to record my reading and any challenge progress.

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

Reading Review: January 2021

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 Ten Thousand Doors of January by Alix E. Harrow

Total Library Books Read This Month: 0
Total Own Books Read This Month: 1
Overall Total Books Read This Month: 1

Total Library Books Read 2021: 0
Total Own Books Read 2021: 1
Overall Total Books Read 2021: 1

MY READ OF THE MONTH

I’ve only managed to finish one book this month so it’s probably no surprise that The Ten Thousand Doors of January is my Read of the Month. In truth it’s a book I enjoyed so much that there’s a fair chance it would have appeared here anyway. I can’t believe I waited so long to read it, and am very much looking forward to reading The Once and Future Witches by the same author.

BEAT THE BACKLIST

My total for this challenge is currently 1 book.   So far I’ve read:

The Ten Thousand Doors of January by Alix E. Harrow

Beat the Backlist Bingo is making another appearance this year. I have no idea how many categories I’ll manage to complete but it’s a little extra to add to my challenge.

Standalone – The Ten Thousand Doors of January by Alix E. Harrow

From the 52 Prompts List…

You can find the complete prompts list here.

The Ten Thousand Doors of January by Alix E. Harrow – Standalone

GOODREADS

My target for 2020 is initially 20 books, which has become a regular starting point for this challenge. I always set a low target as my love for long books means it takes a while for me to complete a book, and I like to take my time with a good book.
This month I read 1 book, so a target of 20 feels about right.

GOALS

• My first read of the year was one of my own books, The Ten Thousand Doors of January, and after that I picked up another book I already own, NOS4A2 by Joe Hill.
• Discovered another new-to-me author in Alix E. Harrow.
• I’ve (mostly) kept up with writing reviews.
• My Beat the Backlist challenge has begun. I’ve read 1 book so far and found a category in the Beat the Backlist Bingo for it too.
• I’m continuing my monthly update posts to record my reading and any challenge progress.

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

Reading Resolutions 2021

Welcome to my 2021 Reading Resolutions post.

It’s become something of a little tradition on my blog to set out a few general reading hopes and goals for the coming year. Nothing too rigid, my Resolutions are general ideas and reminders about reading events and books I’d like to read soon.

As always I will participate in the Goodreads Challenge, setting myself a fairly low target. I enjoy keeping track of my reads and this challenge allows me to do that.
Beat the Backlist will also be making another appearance, to encourage me to stop neglecting books that have been on my TBR list for a while but never made it to the top.

General Goals

• My own books – I want to try and give attention to books I already own by reading at least one of my own books per month.
• Readathons – I hope to participate in reading events and readathons and update my blog regularly throughout. In particular I’m looking out for Reader’s Imbibing Peril. I’d also like to find more readathon events to participate in.
• Genres – I’d like to continue reading a variety of genres, and in particular to read more fantasy. I’d also like to try some sci-fi as it’s a genre I haven’t really explored so far. The Wayfarers series by Becky Chambers may be my starting point.
• Particular authors…Read at least one backlist title by Stephen King. I already have copies of Different Seasons, Christine and Misery.
  I’d also like to re-read the Dark Tower series which could be an ongoing project for the year.
  Read at least one book by Agatha Christie, perhaps Death on the Nile or another of the Poirot series.
  Read another book by Silvia Moreno-Garcia, Simone St. James or Mary Robinette Kowal.
• Blog Updates – Continue my monthly update posts to record my reading and any challenge progress.

Reading Challenges:

The Beat the Backlist Challenge

Goodreads

I want to read 20 books during the year

Possible Books to Read:

I created a list of potential reads for the year which I’ve included in my Beat the Backlist sign up post so I’ll post that here too…

The Ten Thousand Doors of January by Alix E. Harrow
Gods of Jade and Shadow by Silvia Moreno-Garcia
NOS4A2 by Joe Hill
The Dark Tower series by Stephen King
The Devil and the Dark Water by Stuart Turton
Stoker’s Wilde West by Steven Hopstaken and Melissa Prusi
Piranesi by Susanna Clarke
The City We Became by N. K. Jemisin
The Book of Koli by M. R. Carey
The Calculating Stars by Mary Robinette Kowal
The Invisible Library series by Genevieve Cogman
Death on the Nile by Agatha Christie
The Secret History by Donna Tartt
Sorcerer to the Crown by Zen Cho

Beat The Backlist 2021

Overview

A new year, a new TBR pile, and a new set of readers tackling their backlist!

Welcome to Beat the Backlist (the 2021 edition)!
The Beat the Backlist reading challenge is designed to help you tackle all the books you keep meaning to read and still haven’t. Head over to Novelknight for full details.

Guidelines

The guidelines are simple:

The book must be published in the previous year or earlier (for the 2021 challenge, anything published in 2020 or earlier counts).

You have to start and finish the book in 2021.

And that’s it!

Any format, any genre.

Re-reads count, and you don’t have to own the book.

It’s open for the entire year so whenever you feel like jumping in, you can!

BEAT THE BACKLIST BINGO

It’s back! I enjoyed Beat the Backlist Reading Bingo last year, and for 2021 Bingo is back, with a card packed full of reading prompts. This year, there are two bingo cards available and you can find both over at Novelknight.

It’s an additional element to the challenge and finding books to meet each category is fun. I’ll mainly be using the 24-prompt card, but some of the prompts on the 52-prompt list are just irresistible, so this year I’ll be adding that list to my challenge post as well. There’s no way I’ll reach the target, I didn’t read that many books in total last year, but I want to add it for reference, just to see how many prompts I can complete. My main focus will still be the 24-prompt card.

Potential Reads

2021 marks my fifth time participating in Beat the Backlist. As I did last year, I’ll set an initial target of 10 books to read, but hopefully will be able to manage more. My TBR pile is HUGE so there’s no shortage of books to choose from! Here is just a short selection of potential reads for this challenge…

The Ten Thousand Doors of January by Alix E. Harrow
Gods of Jade and Shadow by Silvia Moreno-Garcia
NOS4A2 by Joe Hill
The Dark Tower series by Stephen King
The Devil and the Dark Water by Stuart Turton
Stoker’s Wilde West by Steven Hopstaken and Melissa Prusi
Piranesi by Susanna Clarke
The City We Became by N. K. Jemisin
The Book of Koli by M. R. Carey
The Calculating Stars by Mary Robinette Kowal
The Invisible Library series by Genevieve Cogman
Death on the Nile by Agatha Christie
The Secret History by Donna Tartt
Sorcerer to the Crown by Zen Cho

There are so many more books I could have mentioned above, so I look forward to seeing how many books I manage to read for Beat the Backlist.

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Monthly Progress

January

The Ten Thousand Doors of January by Alix E. Harrow

February

NOS4A2 by Joe Hill
The Gunslinger (The Dark Tower #1) by Stephen King

Beat The Backlist Bingo Progress

This year Bingo is back with a great collection of prompts.  While my main focus is the 24-prompt card I may choose a few from the 52-prompt list as well.  Here is a collection of covers that fulfill a prompt on either of the lists featured above:

The Ten Thousand Doors of January by Alix E. Harrow – Standalone

NOS4A2 by Joe Hill – A book with illustrations

The Gunslinger (The Dark Tower #1) by Stephen King – Kept you up late reading

Reading Review: December 2020

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 Invisible Library (The Invisible Library #1) by Genevieve Cogman

Christmas at Wynter House by Emily Harvale

Midwinter Murder by Agatha Christie

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 2020: 20
Total Own Books Read 2020: 10
Overall Total Books Read 2020: 30

MY READ OF THE MONTH

The Invisible Library (The Invisible Library #1) by Genevieve Cogman. It’s a good start to a series that I’m looking forward to getting into.

BEAT THE BACKLIST

My total for this challenge is currently 24 books read.   So far I’ve read:

The Starless Sea by Erin Morgenstern
The Six by Luca Veste
Hercule Poirot’s Christmas (Poirot #20) by Agatha Christie
Stoker’s Wilde by Steven Hopstaken and Melissa Prusi
The Poison Song (The Winnowing Flame #3) by Jen Williams
The Colour of Magic (Discworld #1) by Terry Pratchett
Dracul by Dacre Stoker and J. D. Barker
The Kingdom by Jess Rothenberg
A Different Kind of Evil (Agatha Christie #2) by Andrew Wilson
Darkness There: Selected Tales by Edgar Allan Poe
Lonesome Dove by Larry McMurtry
A Cosmology of Monsters by Shaun Hamill
The Sleep Tight Motel by Lisa Unger
The Light Fantastic (Discworld #2) by Terry Pratchett
Pines (Wayward Pines #1) by Blake Crouch
Wayward (Wayward Pines #2) by Blake Crouch
The Last Town (Wayward Pines #3) by Blake Crouch
Wakenhyrst by Michelle Paver
Endless Night by Agatha Christie
The Turn of the Screw by Henry James
Hallowe’en Party (Poirot #39) by Agatha Christie
Shades of Milk and Honey (Glamourist Histories #1) by Mary Robinette Kowal
The Invisible Library (The Invisible Library #1) by Genevieve Cogman
Christmas at Wynter House by Emily Harvale

Beat the Backlist Bingo is making another appearance this year. I have no idea how many categories I’ll manage to complete but it’s a little extra to add to my challenge.

           

              

               

              

       

Borrowed it for the cover – The Starless Sea by Erin Morgenstern. I wanted to read this from the moment I first heard about it, but I’m using it for this category because I never got tired of looking at the cover. I also think this may be a contender for the category of a top 10 read of the year.

Released in the 2010’s – The Six by Luca Veste

Written before 2010 – Hercule Poirot’s Christmas (Poirot #20) by Agatha Christie

Wish you had read it sooner – Stoker’s Wilde by Steven Hopstaken and Melissa Prusi

Book you never finished before – The Colour of Magic (Discworld #1) by Terry Pratchett

One word title – Dracul by Dacre Stoker and J. D. Barker

Genre you never/rarely read – The Kingdom by Jess Rothenberg

Book with less than 200 pages – Darkness There: Selected Tales by Edgar Allan Poe

Book with 600+ pages – Lonesome Dove by Larry McMurtry

Cover redesign is better – A Cosmology of Monsters by Shaun Hamill

New to you author – The Sleep Tight Motel by Lisa Unger

Shocking plot twist – Pines (Wayward Pines #1) by Blake Crouch

Owned for over 2 years – Wayward (Wayward Pines #2) by Blake Crouch

Author who writes multiple genre – Shades of Milk and Honey (Glamourist Histories #1) by Mary Robinette Kowal

GOODREADS

I’ve read 30 books so far this year.

GOALS

• I added another book to my Beat the Backlist challenge and my final total for the year is 24 books read. I never thought I’d read so many books for this challenge.
• I’ve continued my monthly update posts to record my reading and any challenge progress.

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

Reading Review: November 2020

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

     

Shades of Milk and Honey (Glamourist Histories #1) by Mary Robinette Kowal

Mexican Gothic by Silvia Moreno-Garcia

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

Total Library Books Read 2020: 18
Total Own Books Read 2020: 9
Overall Total Books Read 2020: 27

MY READ OF THE MONTH

     

No, I cannot do it, I cannot pick one over the other out of the two books I finished this month. They were both so good in completely different ways so it’s going to have to be a tie. Shades of Milk and Honey and Mexican Gothic will both feature as my Reads of the Month.

BEAT THE BACKLIST

My total for this challenge is currently 22 books read.   So far I’ve read:

The Starless Sea by Erin Morgenstern
The Six by Luca Veste
Hercule Poirot’s Christmas (Poirot #20) by Agatha Christie
Stoker’s Wilde by Steven Hopstaken and Melissa Prusi
The Poison Song (The Winnowing Flame #3) by Jen Williams
The Colour of Magic (Discworld #1) by Terry Pratchett
Dracul by Dacre Stoker and J. D. Barker
The Kingdom by Jess Rothenberg
A Different Kind of Evil (Agatha Christie #2) by Andrew Wilson
Darkness There: Selected Tales by Edgar Allan Poe
Lonesome Dove by Larry McMurtry
A Cosmology of Monsters by Shaun Hamill
The Sleep Tight Motel by Lisa Unger
The Light Fantastic (Discworld #2) by Terry Pratchett
Pines (Wayward Pines #1) by Blake Crouch
Wayward (Wayward Pines #2) by Blake Crouch
The Last Town (Wayward Pines #3) by Blake Crouch
Wakenhyrst by Michelle Paver
Endless Night by Agatha Christie
The Turn of the Screw by Henry James
Hallowe’en Party (Poirot #39) by Agatha Christie
Shades of Milk and Honey (Glamourist Histories #1) by Mary Robinette Kowal

Beat the Backlist Bingo is making another appearance this year. I have no idea how many categories I’ll manage to complete but it’s a little extra to add to my challenge.

           

              

               

              

       

Borrowed it for the cover – The Starless Sea by Erin Morgenstern. I wanted to read this from the moment I first heard about it, but I’m using it for this category because I never got tired of looking at the cover. I also think this may be a contender for the category of a top 10 read of the year.

Released in the 2010’s – The Six by Luca Veste

Written before 2010 – Hercule Poirot’s Christmas (Poirot #20) by Agatha Christie

Wish you had read it sooner – Stoker’s Wilde by Steven Hopstaken and Melissa Prusi

Book you never finished before – The Colour of Magic (Discworld #1) by Terry Pratchett

One word title – Dracul by Dacre Stoker and J. D. Barker

Genre you never/rarely read – The Kingdom by Jess Rothenberg

Book with less than 200 pages – Darkness There: Selected Tales by Edgar Allan Poe

Book with 600+ pages – Lonesome Dove by Larry McMurtry

Cover redesign is better – A Cosmology of Monsters by Shaun Hamill

New to you author – The Sleep Tight Motel by Lisa Unger

Shocking plot twist – Pines (Wayward Pines #1) by Blake Crouch

Owned for over 2 years – Wayward (Wayward Pines #2) by Blake Crouch

Author who writes multiple genre – Shades of Milk and Honey (Glamourist Histories #1) by Mary Robinette Kowal

GOODREADS

I’ve read 27 books so far this year.

GOALS

• I read two of my own books this month.
• Discovered two new-to-me authors, Silvia-Moreno Garcia and Mary Robinette Kowal. They’re both authors I would read again, so I’m pleased they both have more books already out there.
• I added another book to my Beat the Backlist challenge and my current total stands at 22. I never thought I’d read so many books for the challenge and I hope I might be add to add at last one more before the end of the year.
• I’m continuing my monthly update posts to record my reading and any challenge progress.

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

Reading Review: October 2020

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

           

Endless Night by Agatha Christie

The Sun Down Motel by Simone St. James

The Turn of the Screw by Henry James

Hallowe’en Party (Poirot #39) by Agatha Christie

Total Library Books Read This Month: 2
Total Own Books Read This Month: 2
Overall Total Books Read This Month: 4

Total Library Books Read 2020: 18
Total Own Books Read 2020: 7
Overall Total Books Read 2020: 25

MY READ OF THE MONTH

The Sun Down Motel by Simone St. James was just the sort of story I was hoping for during the second month of Readers Imbibing Peril. It was a little spooky, a little mysterious, had a great cast of characters, including a variety of ghostly figures, and I enjoyed every moment I spent reading it.

BEAT THE BACKLIST

My total for this challenge is currently 21 books read.   So far I’ve read:

The Starless Sea by Erin Morgenstern
The Six by Luca Veste
Hercule Poirot’s Christmas (Poirot #20) by Agatha Christie
Stoker’s Wilde by Steven Hopstaken and Melissa Prusi
The Poison Song (The Winnowing Flame #3) by Jen Williams
The Colour of Magic (Discworld #1) by Terry Pratchett
Dracul by Dacre Stoker and J. D. Barker
The Kingdom by Jess Rothenberg
A Different Kind of Evil (Agatha Christie #2) by Andrew Wilson
Darkness There: Selected Tales by Edgar Allan Poe
Lonesome Dove by Larry McMurtry
A Cosmology of Monsters by Shaun Hamill
The Sleep Tight Motel by Lisa Unger
The Light Fantastic (Discworld #2) by Terry Pratchett
Pines (Wayward Pines #1) by Blake Crouch
Wayward (Wayward Pines #2) by Blake Crouch
The Last Town (Wayward Pines #3) by Blake Crouch
Wakenhyrst by Michelle Paver
Endless Night by Agatha Christie
The Turn of the Screw by Henry James
Hallowe’en Party (Poirot #39) by Agatha Christie

Beat the Backlist Bingo is making another appearance this year. I have no idea how many categories I’ll manage to complete but it’s a little extra to add to my challenge.

           

              

               

              

Borrowed it for the cover – The Starless Sea by Erin Morgenstern. I wanted to read this from the moment I first heard about it, but I’m using it for this category because I never got tired of looking at the cover. I also think this may be a contender for the category of a top 10 read of the year.

Released in the 2010’s – The Six by Luca Veste

Written before 2010 – Hercule Poirot’s Christmas (Poirot #20) by Agatha Christie

Wish you had read it sooner – Stoker’s Wilde by Steven Hopstaken and Melissa Prusi

Book you never finished before – The Colour of Magic (Discworld #1) by Terry Pratchett

One word title – Dracul by Dacre Stoker and J. D. Barker

Genre you never/rarely read – The Kingdom by Jess Rothenberg

Book with less than 200 pages – Darkness There: Selected Tales by Edgar Allan Poe

Book with 600+ pages – Lonesome Dove by Larry McMurtry

Cover redesign is better – A Cosmology of Monsters by Shaun Hamill

New to you author – The Sleep Tight Motel by Lisa Unger

Shocking plot twist – Pines (Wayward Pines #1) by Blake Crouch

Owned for over 2 years – Wayward (Wayward Pines #2) by Blake Crouch

GOODREADS

I’ve read 25 books so far this year.

GOALS

• I read two of my own books again this month.
• Discovered another new-to-me author, Simone St. James. I enjoyed The Sun Down Motel so much that I would certainly like to check out more books by this author.
• Read another book in the Poirot series by Agatha Christie.
• Beat the Backlist saw some more progress. I read 3 backlist titles this month and my total so far is 21, which is more than I was expecting. I’m having a harder time finding titles for my remaining bingo categories now, but I’m still enjoying adding to my overall total for the challenge.
• The Readers Imbibing Peril read-a-thon concludes this month but I’ve enjoyed participating again and I think this is probably the most I’ve ever managed to read during the event. I read 8 books in total.
• I’m continuing my monthly update posts to record my reading and any challenge progress.

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

Reading Review: September 2020

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

           

Pines (Wayward Pines #1) by Blake Crouch

Wayward (Wayward Pines #2) by Blake Crouch

The Last Town (Wayward Pines #3) by Blake Crouch

Wakenhyrst by Michelle Paver

Total Library Books Read This Month: 2
Total Own Books Read This Month: 2
Overall Total Books Read This Month: 4

Total Library Books Read 2020: 16
Total Own Books Read 2020: 5
Overall Total Books Read 2020: 21

MY READ OF THE MONTH

I could say the whole Wayward Pines trilogy by Blake Crouch but I’ll go for the first book, Pines. There’s so much mystery and so many questions that it’s a great start to an enjoyable trilogy.

BEAT THE BACKLIST

My total for this challenge is currently 18 books read.   So far I’ve read:

The Starless Sea by Erin Morgenstern
The Six by Luca Veste
Hercule Poirot’s Christmas (Poirot #20) by Agatha Christie
Stoker’s Wilde by Steven Hopstaken and Melissa Prusi
The Poison Song (The Winnowing Flame #3) by Jen Williams
The Colour of Magic (Discworld #1) by Terry Pratchett
Dracul by Dacre Stoker and J. D. Barker
The Kingdom by Jess Rothenberg
A Different Kind of Evil (Agatha Christie #2) by Andrew Wilson
Darkness There: Selected Tales by Edgar Allan Poe
Lonesome Dove by Larry McMurtry
A Cosmology of Monsters by Shaun Hamill
The Sleep Tight Motel by Lisa Unger
The Light Fantastic (Discworld #2) by Terry Pratchett
Pines (Wayward Pines #1) by Blake Crouch
Wayward (Wayward Pines #2) by Blake Crouch
The Last Town (Wayward Pines #3) by Blake Crouch
Wakenhyrst by Michelle Paver

Beat the Backlist Bingo is making another appearance this year. I have no idea how many categories I’ll manage to complete but it’s a little extra to add to my challenge.

           

              

               

              

Borrowed it for the cover – The Starless Sea by Erin Morgenstern. I wanted to read this from the moment I first heard about it, but I’m using it for this category because I never got tired of looking at the cover. I also think this may be a contender for the category of a top 10 read of the year.

Released in the 2010’s – The Six by Luca Veste

Written before 2010 – Hercule Poirot’s Christmas (Poirot #20) by Agatha Christie

Wish you had read it sooner – Stoker’s Wilde by Steven Hopstaken and Melissa Prusi

Book you never finished before – The Colour of Magic (Discworld #1) by Terry Pratchett

One word title – Dracul by Dacre Stoker and J. D. Barker

Genre you never/rarely read – The Kingdom by Jess Rothenberg

Book with less than 200 pages – Darkness There: Selected Tales by Edgar Allan Poe

Book with 600+ pages – Lonesome Dove by Larry McMurtry

Cover redesign is better – A Cosmology of Monsters by Shaun Hamill

New to you author – The Sleep Tight Motel by Lisa Unger

Shocking plot twist – Pines (Wayward Pines #1) by Blake Crouch

Owned for over 2 years – Wayward (Wayward Pines #2) by Blake Crouch

GOODREADS

I’ve read 21 books so far this year.

GOALS

• I’m doing better with reading books I already own at the moment as I read two this month.
• Discovered a new-to-me author in Blake Crouch and as I enjoyed the Wayward Pines trilogy so much I’m interested in checking out more of his books in the future.
• I made more Beat the Backlist progress this month as all four of the books I read counted towards the challenge. My total stands at 18 and I’m hoping I might be able to manage 20 before the end of the challenge.
• The Readers Imbibing Peril read-a-thon is ongoing throughout September and October so I’m participating in that.
• I’m continuing my monthly update posts to record my reading and any challenge progress I’ve made.

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

Readers Imbibing Peril XV – #RIPXV

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 RIPXV? Here you go…

Welcome to the FIFTEENTH year of Readers Imbibing Peril, or RIP, as it is affectionately called. The challenge runs from 1st September to 31st October. There are no official sign ups this year, it’s an event with as much or as little commitment as you like. To participate just use the hastag #RIPXV and @perilreaders when talking about what you’ve been reading or watching.

The R.I.P. Challenge includes 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.

A Potential TBR List

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

The Wayward Pines trilogy by Blake Crouch
Wakenhyrst by Michelle Paver
Halloween Party by Agatha Christie
Endless Night by Agatha Christie
I Am Dust by Louise Beech
NOS4A2 by Joe Hill
We Have Always Lived in the Castle by Shirley Jackson
The Secret History by Donna Tartt
Selections from the Dark Corners short story collection

Progress

           

             

     

Pines (Wayward Pines #1) by Blake Crouch
Wayward (Wayward Pines #2) by Blake Crouch
The Last Town (Wayward Pines #3) by Blake Crouch
Wakenhyrst by Michelle Paver
Endless Night by Agatha Christie
The Sun Down Motel by Simone St. James
The Turn of the Screw by Henry James
Hallowe’en Party (Poirot #39) by Agatha Christie

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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 #RIPXV?

Reading Review: August 2020

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

           

Opium and Absinthe by Lydia Kang

The Sleep Tight Motel by Lisa Unger

The Light Fantastic (Discworld #2) by Terry Pratchett

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 2020: 14
Total Own Books Read 2020: 3
Overall Total Books Read 2020: 17

MY READ OF THE MONTH

The Sleep Tight Motel by Lisa Unger. I don’t usually read short stories and this made a nice change for me – a fast-paced tale with plenty happening, an eerie atmosphere and a great mystery, and one that I could devour in one day.

BEAT THE BACKLIST

My total for this challenge is currently 14 books read.   So far I’ve read:

The Starless Sea by Erin Morgenstern
The Six by Luca Veste
Hercule Poirot’s Christmas (Poirot #20) by Agatha Christie
Stoker’s Wilde by Steven Hopstaken and Melissa Prusi
The Poison Song (The Winnowing Flame #3) by Jen Williams
The Colour of Magic (Discworld #1) by Terry Pratchett
Dracul by Dacre Stoker and J. D. Barker
The Kingdom by Jess Rothenberg
A Different Kind of Evil (Agatha Christie #2) by Andrew Wilson
Darkness There: Selected Tales by Edgar Allan Poe
Lonesome Dove by Larry McMurtry
A Cosmology of Monsters by Shaun Hamill
The Sleep Tight Motel by Lisa Unger
The Light Fantastic (Discworld #2) by Terry Pratchett

Beat the Backlist Bingo is making another appearance this year. I have no idea how many categories I’ll manage to complete but it’s a little extra to add to my challenge.

           

              

               

       

Borrowed it for the cover – The Starless Sea by Erin Morgenstern. I wanted to read this from the moment I first heard about it, but I’m using it for this category because I never got tired of looking at the cover. I also think this may be a contender for the category of a top 10 read of the year.

Released in the 2010’s – The Six by Luca Veste

Written before 2010 – Hercule Poirot’s Christmas (Poirot #20) by Agatha Christie

Wish you had read it sooner – Stoker’s Wilde by Steven Hopstaken and Melissa Prusi

Book you never finished before – The Colour of Magic (Discworld #1) by Terry Pratchett

One word title – Dracul by Dacre Stoker and J. D. Barker

Genre you never/rarely read – The Kingdom by Jess Rothenberg

Book with less than 200 pages – Darkness There: Selected Tales by Edgar Allan Poe

Book with 600+ pages – Lonesome Dove by Larry McMurtry

Cover redesign is better – A Cosmology of Monsters by Shaun Hamill

New to you author – The Sleep Tight Motel by Lisa Unger

GOODREADS

I’ve read 17 books so far this year.

GOALS

• I read one of my own books again this month. I hope to keep giving attention to books I already own as there are so many that I’m looking forward to starting.
• Read and enjoyed something a little different in a short story. I enjoyed it and would certainly be tempted by more in the Dark Corners series.
• My Beat the Backlist challenge is ongoing. So far I’ve read 14 books. Hopefully I’ll add at least a couple more before the challenge ends. The Bingo is getting harder now so not sure whether I’ll complete any more of the categories but I’ll try.
• I’m continuing my monthly update posts to record my reading and any challenge progress I’ve made.

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