Reading Review: May 2018

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 Seven Deaths of Evelyn Hardcastle by Stuart Turton

Ordeal by Innocence by Agatha Christie

The Perfect Girlfriend by Karen Hamilton

A Time of Dread by John Gwynne

Total Library Books Read This Month: 4
Total Own Books Read This Month: 0
Overall Total Books Read This Month: 4

Total Library Books Read 2018: 16
Total Own Books Read 2018: 0
Overall Total Books Read 2018: 16

MY READ OF THE MONTH

This is so easy this month – The Seven Deaths of Evelyn Hardcastle by Stuart Turton. So good that I’m still thinking about it even after reading another three books this month. So good that I would probably read it again, and I don’t often re-read. In case you haven’t gathered, I enjoyed it, very much!

BEAT THE BACKLIST

My total for this challenge is 8 books read.  I’ve read:

The Watcher by Ross Armstrong
The Christmas Secret by Karen Swan
Into the Drowning Deep by Mira Grant
Year One by Nora Roberts
A Gathering of Shadows by V. E Schwab
Murder on the Orient Express by Agatha Christie
Ready Player One by Ernest Cline
Ordeal by Innocence by Agatha Christie

GOODREADS

16 books read so far this year. I’m glad I set myself quite a low target (20 books) this year, because anything after that will be a bonus and I’m curious how much I’ll end up reading.

GOALS

• I’ve kept up with reviews and posted quite regularly this month.
• Participated in Bout of Books, which is always one of my favourite reading events.

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

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Reading Review: April 2018

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

          

 

 

 

 

 

 

Murder on the Orient Express by Agatha Christie

Force of Nature by Jane Harper

Ready Player One by Ernest Cline

The Bitter Twins by Jen Williams

Total Library Books Read This Month:   4
Total Own Books Read This Month:   0
Overall Total Books Read This Month:   4

Total Library Books Read 2018:   12
Total Own Books Read 2018:   0
Overall Total Books Read 2018:   12

MY READ OF THE MONTH

     

I tried, I really did, to choose just one of these two, but in the end it was just impossible, and so this month I have two Reads of the Month…

Murder on the Orient Express by Agatha Christie. I’d not read any Poirot before, and only one Christie previously, but I enjoyed this so much that I’m requesting at least a couple more Poirot books from the library. It was something quite different for me, and I flew through it, loving every moment.

The Bitter Twins by Jen Williams. If you’re not reading the Winnowing Flame trilogy then you’re missing a treat. A Fantasy series with great characters, a formidable enemy and some pretty fantastic war-beasts (dragons/giant cats/griffins, and they can all talk). What’s not to love?

BEAT THE BACKLIST

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

The Watcher by Ross Armstrong
The Christmas Secret by Karen Swan
Into the Drowning Deep by Mira Grant
Year One by Nora Roberts
A Gathering of Shadows by V. E Schwab
Murder on the Orient Express by Agatha Christie
Ready Player One by Ernest Cline

GOODREADS

12 books read so far this year. I’ve read more this month than I have in ages, which has made a nice change.

GOALS

• I’ve kept up with my reviews and so probably posted to my blog more than usual this month.
• Having ventured into reading Agatha Christie I’ve tried something new-to-me, and it was a success as I’ve now found something else that I really enjoyed.

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

Reading Review: March 2018

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 Wicked Cometh by Laura Carlin

The Toymakers by Robert Dinsdale

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 2018: 8
Total Own Books Read 2018: 0
Overall Total Books Read 2018: 8

MY READ OF THE MONTH

The Wicked Cometh by Laura Carlin. I loved the atmosphere, the setting, the characters and the writing. Can’t wait to see what this author does next.

BEAT THE BACKLIST

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

The Watcher by Ross Armstrong
The Christmas Secret by Karen Swan
Into the Drowning Deep by Mira Grant
Year One by Nora Roberts
A Gathering of Shadows by V. E Schwab

GOODREADS

8 books read so far this year. My target is pretty low at 20, but hopefully I’ll go beyond that.

GOALS

• I’ve kept up with my reviews.
• Am still reading IT so I’m giving some attention to books I already own.

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

Reading Review: February 2018

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 Gathering of Shadows by V. E Schwab

Anatomy of a Scandal by Sarah Vaughan

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 2018: 6
Total Own Books Read 2018: 0
Overall Total Books Read 2018: 6

MY READ OF THE MONTH

A Gathering of Shadows by V. E. Schwab

I loved venturing through the various Londons with Lila and Kell, and the magical tournament was great. Alucard Emery has become a new favourite character, and that ending! I don’t think it will be long before I read the next book.

BEAT THE BACKLIST

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

The Watcher by Ross Armstrong
The Christmas Secret by Karen Swan
Into the Drowning Deep by Mira Grant
Year One by Nora Roberts
A Gathering of Shadows by V. E Schwab

GOODREADS

I set myself the target of 20 books this year, and now I’ve started a re-read of IT which has over 1000 pages I’m pretty glad I set a fairly low target.
My current total read so far this year is 6 books.

GOALS

• I’ve kept up with my reviews, which is quite good as various computer/internet issues mean I haven’t been online that often recently.

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

Reading Review: January 2018

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 Watcher by Ross Armstrong

The Christmas Secret by Karen Swan

Into the Drowning Deep by Mira Grant

Year One by Nora Roberts

Total Library Books Read This Month:  4
Total Own Books Read This Month:  0
Overall Total Books Read This Month:  4

Total Library Books Read 2018:  4
Total Own Books Read 2018:  0
Overall Total Books Read 2018:  4

MY READ OF THE MONTH

Into the Drowning Deep by Mira Grant.

It was my first 5* read of the year, so has to feature as my Read of the Month. Killer mermaids, scientists, dolphins, and high-stakes out on the vast ocean, what more could you want? Add in a few pretty scary moments and you’re in for a good read.

BEAT THE BACKLIST

My total for this challenge is 4 books read.  I’ve read:

The Watcher by Ross Armstrong
The Christmas Secret by Karen Swan
Into the Drowning Deep by Mira Grant
Year One by Nora Roberts

GOODREADS

I set myself the target of reading 20 books this year, which is the same as last year. I didn’t want to go too high because I always choose such long books that I want to keep it low pressure and just enjoy what I’m reading, without having a massive target to reach.
My current total of books read is 4.

GOALS

• I’ve kept up with my reviews so far, which is quite good as I’ve read more this month than I usually do.
• I took part in my first readathon of the year, Bout of Books, and am on the lookout for another even to participate in.
• Sci-fi and Post-Apocalyptic featured in my reading choices this month, so I’m still indulging my enjoyment of those genres.

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

Reading Resolutions 2018

Welcome to my 2018 Reading Resolutions post.

As usual I will be participating in the Goodreads challenge, as I’ve done for a number of years.
I’m also joining in with the Beat the Backlist challenge again, as I enjoyed that in 2017 and managed to read a few titles from a TBR list that seems never-ending.
I’m also creating my list of Reading Resolutions again, which is a general list of reading hopes and goals for the coming year.
I’ll continue my monthly progress updates.

General Goals

• To participate in reading events and readathons and keep my blog regularly updated with progress.
• To continue making an effort to give some attention to the books that I already own.
• To read a variety of genres, but to carry on indulging my love of fantasy/dystopia/post apocalypse stories.
• Maybe try another audio book.
• To continue my monthly update posts to record how I’m doing in keeping up with my challenges.

Reading Challenges:

The Beat the Backlist Challenge

Goodreads

I want to read 20 books during the year

Possible Books to Read:

The Harry Potter series by J. K. Rowling (re-read)
Misery by Stephen King
The Name of the Wind by Patrick Rothfuss
The Girl in the Tower by Katherine Arden ?BL?
Artemis by Andy Weir
Into the Drowning Deep by Mira Grant
The Toymakers by Robert Dinsdale
The Wicked Cometh by Laura Carlin
My Cousin Rachel by Daphne Du Maurier
The Secret History by Donna Tartt
Year One by Nora Roberts
Alias Grace by Margaret Atwood
The Remnant by Charlie Fletcher
The Rules of Magic by Alice Hoffman

 

Beat the Backlist 2018

Overview

The Beat the Backlist Challenge is hosted over at NovelKnight

Welcome to the 2018 edition of Beat the Backlist!
This reading challenge is focused on knocking off titles that have been on your TBR for a while, or even ones that get pushed aside for new releases. While we LOVE new releases, we also want to show some of those older titles love too.

YOU set your own reading goal. YOU pick the books. YOU read at your own pace.

Whether you’re a casual reader looking to work on your TBR list with a bunch of people, or a competitive reader seeking a bit of extra motivation this year, Beat the Backlist is for you.

Guidelines

The challenge will run from January 1, 2018 to December 31, 2018. You have an ENTIRE YEAR to complete your goal!

Books must be released prior to 2018 to count for this challenge. Although we love new releases too, this isn’t the challenge for them.

That’s it!

Potential Reads

Wolf Hall by Hilary Mantel
The Harry Potter series by J. K. Rowling (re-read)
Misery by Stephen King
The Name of the Wind by Patrick Rothfuss
The Girl in the Tower by Katherine Arden
Artemis by Andy Weir
Into the Drowning Deep by Mira Grant
My Cousin Rachel by Daphne Du Maurier
The Secret History by Donna Tartt
Year One by Nora Roberts
Alias Grace by Margaret Atwood
The Remnant by Charlie Fletcher
The Rules of Magic by Alice Hoffman

This is my second time participating in Beat the Backlist. Last year doing the challenge really encouraged me to make a (tiny) dent in my backlist TBR list/pile, so I’m certainly up for another try in 2018.
I’m going to set myself a target of 10 books to start with, and have made a list of a few potential reads. I’m looking forward to tackling my endless TBR list again.

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Monthly Progress

January

        

The Watcher by Ross Armstrong

The Christmas Secret by Karen Swan

Into the Drowning Deep by Mira Grant

Year One by Nora Roberts

February

A Gathering of Shadows by V. E. Schwab

March

Nothing new to add

April

   

Murder on the Orient Express by Agatha Christie

Ready Player One by Ernest Cline

May

Ordeal by Innocence by Agatha Christie

June

    

The Mysterious Affair at Styles (Poirot #1) by Agatha Christie

The Murder on the Links (Poirot #2) by Agatha Christie

July

     

A Gentleman in Moscow by Amor Towles

A Talent for Murder by Andrew Wilson

Dear Fahrenheit 451 by Annie Spence

August

Poirot Investigates (Poirot #3) by Agatha Christie