Well! Made it through another week. I had a long weekend and then also tried to take it easy, so I’m feeling a bit less stressed and snowed under, and got back to reading (whew!).
As per usual, I’m linking up with Reading Reality’s Stacking the Shelves, Caffeinated Reviewer’s The Sunday Post, and the Sunday Salon over at Readerbuzz.
Acquired this week:
So… there was a bit of a book spree. I’d like to say it was because of the British World Book Day (which we have earlier than everyone else so it doesn’t fall into our school holidays), but nope, I’d already indulged plenty before that. Classic retail therapy.
One thing I got was a bunch of new-to-me Object Lessons books. I love these as a concept, and try to get myself a little batch of new ones every so often!
I love how they all look together on shelves, too, so neat and tidy.
Anyway, other than that I also bought some other books I’ve had my eye on for a while:
The Walnut Tree sounds kinda grim, but I’ve read it already and I loved it! A Bookshop of One’s Own is kinda grim, too: I’m partway through it, and of course Silver Moon was established during the Thatcher era…
I also received a book from my mum. Sort of. For Christmas, my wife and I gave my mum a reading subscription from Mr B’s Emporium of Reading Delights. Each month, she receives a book chosen for her based on her preferences in the (quite extensive!) interview. However, since she has macular degeneration, the print is often too small, so after she’s had the fun of getting a package and seeing what’s been chosen for her, then I get her an ebook copy and the physical copy goes to someone who’s interested in it. Since we share quite a lot of our taste in books, it’s quite likely that will often be me… and thus did I get given her book choice for February! (My sister has claimed the book from March, Alice Roberts’ Ancestors. That’s okay, I already read it.)
And finally, I did get a new eARC this week as well — I’ve been meaning to read The Fortunate Fall for a long time, but I have no idea where my copy is, and I’m not sure if this version contains any updates. Thank you, Tor!
And — wait, that was not the end! Sneaking in at the last moment, as I was writing this post I spotted that the latest volume of A Side Character’s Love Story is out! I haven’t written a lot about this manga series here, since I read it when I wasn’t blogging or reviewing much, and also I never expected to be breathlessly devouring all (at the time) 14 volumes. It’s a sweet, slow-burn romance (though a quick read). If you’re curious about it, most or all of the series is available on Kindle Unlimited in the UK, and maybe elsewhere. Just sayin’.
Posts from this week:
It was a slightly slower week again here, since I didn’t post reviews on days I had a different post going up, but it’s still worth going over the list:
- Fantasy YA comic: Stone Star: Fight or Flight, by Jim Zub et al (2/5 stars)
- Non-fiction ranging through history: The Notebook: A History of Thinking on Paper, by Roland Allen (5/5 stars)
- Fantasy: Emily Wilde’s Encyclopaedia of Faeries, by Heather Fawcett (4/5 stars)
- Non-fiction about archaeology: Crypt: Life, Death and Disease in the Middle Ages and Beyond, by Alice Roberts (5/5 stars)
And non-review posts:
What I’m reading:
During my long weekend, I got a bit of my reading mojo back and managed to devour the second Emily Wilde book and Kate Morgan’s The Walnut Tree. I haven’t finished a lot of books, but I’ve been enjoying myself greatly. So here are the books I’ve read in the last week that I plan to review on here:
Over the weekend, I plan to finish A Bookshop of One’s Own (Jane Cholmeley), and maybe make a start on Robert Jackson Bennett’s The Tainted Cup. As ever, though, I’ll let my whim guide me.
And how’s everyone else doing?
Your post has sent me off on a Google search for the Object Lessons series, and, of course, I’m enchanted, and, likewise, I’m sad to see that none of my nearby libraries have any of these—so I added a couple of the most compelling (to me) books to my wishlist. Thank you for sharing this lovely series of books with us.
I’m glad you got a little of your reading mojo back. I’m trying to read what I want and let that lead me these days, and that seems to be a successful strategy—at least for me.
The content of the books can be a bit variable — I like the ones which are histories best, like Personal Stereo and Blue Jeans, while some end up being more like memoirs, like Veil and Sticker. But they’re so lovely as a set, and I’ve learned some surprising things about some surprising things! XD
Yeah, I always try to follow my whims, otherwise it starts feeling like a chore.
The book covers say it all and look so good together. Glad you learned surprising new things.
Harvee at https://bookdilettante.blogspot.com/
It’s a lovely set! Thanks for dropping by.
Emily Wilde’s Map seems to be on everyone’s radar these days, though I’m not sure anyone has written a full review of it. Good to see you enjoying life a bit more.
best, mae at maefood.blogspot.com
My review’s written, but it’ll probably be a while before it goes up since I try to vary things! I really liked it, though.
How sweet that you do that for your mum.
A good looking book haul. I want to read A Bookshop of Ones Own and The Tainted Cup.
I enjoyed World Book Day however my son’s school decided to ‘celebrate’ it the week before, which I found confusing.
I enjoyed Emily Wilde’s Encyclopedia of Faeries but I slightly preferred the second one, Emily Wilde’s Map of the Otherlands.
Have a great weekend!
Emily @ Budget Tales Book Blog
My post:
https://budgettalesblog.wordpress.com/2024/03/09/stacking-the-shelves-childrens-edition/
I finished up A Bookshop of One’s Own yesterday — it was really interesting! A lot of the practicalities about running a bookshop, plus the effects of the period (Thatcher et al).
I liked Map of the Otherlands a lot as well! It did feel a bit more… hm, it flowed a bit better, I think? Like it felt less “…and another thing!”
Those Object Lesson books look so cool!!!! I’m curious about the Sticker one. I see that it is “A memoir in 20 stickers”…is there text, too? Or just stickers? I’m trying to picture it in my head. My library has these books so hopefully I can check some out whenever my local branch reopens. (New roof being put on it and running behind schedule.)
That book about Notebooks…does it answer MY questions, which are when and why did humans first have this maddening desire to write things down in the first place? And what did those humans do before the concept of writing existed? I mean, before it occurred to them to even scribble in the dirt with a stick or do cave drawings. Did they just walk around with their brains on the verge of exploding?
Anyway, I added it to my TBR.
The Alice Roberts books sound good, too!
Yeah, there’s actually no pictures! It’s just descriptions of the stickers, and anecdotes about them.
The Notebook doesn’t go so far back, no! It really starts off with really prosaic uses of notebooks, for bookkeeping.
I will be requesting my library purchase The Walnut Tree, it is something I would absolutely read and be furious about.
It was really fascinating! And harrowing, of course, but really well put together.
I’ve suddenly found myself in a reading sweet spot. I hope both of us sustain our reading mojo for a while. It’s so much fun when that happens!
I’m sorry about your mom’s macular degeneration. I love the solution that you arranged for her — what a fun gift! It’s great when technology truly helps.
Yes, indeed! I missed having the energy/interest in reading, I always feel so strange when I don’t have it.
I actually got my first ereader (and several subsequent ones) back when I was trying to test out what would work for her, when she was first diagnosed! And now ereading is definitely a lifeline.
Those Object Lesson books look very cool together!
I must get the Heather Fawcett books.
It’s a really nice set! I’m getting quite a shelf of them.
The Emily Wilde series is a lot of fun, definitely recommended!
The Object Lessons books sound fascinating!! I am definitely going to see if I can find them around here. And I love seeing books lined up all neatly on a shelf too. 🙂
The contents can be a bit variable (some are histories, some more like memoirs), but I’ve found them really interesting as a set!
Looks like quite the haul! I hope you enjoy them all. Enjoy the rest of your weekend!
Thanks! I did. XD And now it’s the weekend again, how time flies.
Those books do look like they’d be nice on the shelf. Glad to hear the second Emily Wilde was good!
They make a nice set! Not very fancy spines, but they just look so neat and tidy somehow.
I love the UK covers on the Emily Wilde books. The Tainted Cup was amazing. I highly recommend it.
Anne – Books of My Heart This is my Sunday Post
Yeah, they’re pretty!
I’ve made a start on The Tainted Cup, but it’s a bit on the backburner as I’m reading waaaay too many books at once.
Oooh, I am intrigued by the Object Lessons book!
Unfortunately I haven’t loved the ones I’ve read recently, but there are some amazing ones in the series!
Those Object Lessons books are really something else! Like Deb, I went down a rabbit hole of searching for them too, and omg my library has them!! Only five of them, but it’s a great start, or maybe a not-so-great start because I can totally see myself becoming a collector if I’m not careful! Enjoy your haul!
Hahaha, yep, I’ve definitely started collecting them. They’re a bit of a variable bunch — sadly I haven’t loved the ones I’ve read recently. My favourites so far were Blue Jeans and Personal Stereo. Oh, and Bookshelf!