ShelfLove Update!

It’s May already?! Like last month, I’m going to consolidate my TBR list with my ShelfLove update, since they go together well and it is in fact the first of the month today.

And this month I also bring more stats, plus colour coding. The goals where I’m ahead are in blue; bang on are in green; behind by up to five books are in orange; anything else is in red. I now have a running total to show where I should be for the month (so for example, in books read overall, I should’ve read 121 by now, and I’m on 109).

• Targets: 
  • 250 or less books bought;
  • 366 books read overall;
  • 200 books read which I owned prior to 2016;
  • no more than 10% of income on books per month.
• Books bought this year so far: 69/80.
• March books bought: 8/20.
• March budget: £38/£50.
• Owned books read this month: 17/16.
• Books read this month: 33/30.
• Owned books read overall: 54/67 (13 books behind).
• Books read overall: 109/121 (12 books behind).

As you can see, I’ve not doing too badly in the past month, and I’m beginning to catch up with the deficit from previous months. And I’ve been very good about sticking to my budget, too!

Still, time for a TBR for May. I’ll undoubtedly read more than this — hopefully a lot more — but these are ones I need to get to for reviews, buddy reads, or just because they’ve been languishing that long.

• The Last Argument of Kings, Joe Abercrombie. Darn it, Nikki, you’re halfway through it. Pick it back up.
• Passenger, Alexandra Bracken. Started this last month, but got distracted.
• Bitterblue, Kristin Cashore. Uh, ditto from The Last Argument of Kings. Except more so, because at least the former is a reread. This isn’t and I really should finish it and find out the ending.
• Knight’s Shadow, Sebastien de Castell. I have read the first couple of pages and now I muuuust get round to it.
• Tam Lin, Pamela Dean. Before people explode or something.
• The Door into Shadow, Diane Duane. I’ve had these books kicking around since 2011, and I just reread the first one, so it’s time. I’ll probably try to read the third one too.
• The Wolf in the Attic, Paul Kearney. Received to review and I think the review is about due. Oh dear, too much of that rhymed.
• False Hearts, Laura Lam. Due out in June, I think, so it’s about time to get to it.
• A Court of Thorns & Roses, Sarah J. Maas. I don’t remember the book well enough to read the sequel right away. That’s a good excuse, right?
• A Court of Mist & Fury, Sarah J. Maas. Zomg!
• Rosemary & Rue, Seanan McGuire. Reading Every Heart A Doorway convinced me I really need to get on and read this one.
• Hero, Perry Moore. What better way to celebrate Captain America: Civil War’s release than with cute gay superheroes?
• The Sudden Appearance of Hope, Claire North. Just received this to review, and North’s books are always solidly entertaining, so let’s go!
• Too Like the Lightning, Ada Palmer. Had it to review, should have already done it. Whoops.
• House of Suns, Alastair Reynolds. Or my sister will kick me. If she could be bothered to come to Belgium to do so, anyway.

And I’ll stop there, lest I end up sulking about having to stick too rigidly to a list (yes, despite my evident and oft-indulged love of making lists).

And now for the Shelf Love challenge’s prompt for the month: summer’s coming, so we’re all planning literary trips. It requires some serious thought, because the areas of fiction and history that fascinate me to read about wouldn’t necessary be fun to visit. I could take a leaf out of my mother’s book and follow in Lord Peter Wimsey’s footsteps through Scotland on the trail of Five Red Herrings. Or perhaps, since I don’t live in Wales anymore, I’d be better served by visiting Cader Idris in Wales, the site of Susan Cooper’s The Grey King and Silver on the Tree. Or a trip round Britain to the various sites of Arthurian legend — but not while the battles are going on, please. Hey, if I could pinpoint a site for Camelot…

But really, I’m a homebody, so my favourite literary trips are best taken from an armchair.