Good morning folks! I’m writing this somewhat in haste as I’m also getting ready for a trip (for my grandmother’s funeral). Luckily (though sadly), there’s not a lot to say reading-wise, but let’s dig in all the same…
Books acquired this week
None! Technically I have a little allowance from my wife to get a couple of new books as a reward for hard work on my assignments, but I keep procrastinating on actually choosing any. And I didn’t have time for a library trip this week.
Posts from this week
As usual, here’s a bit of a roundup of the reviews:
- Historical mystery with some fantasy elements: Seams Like Murder, by Tilly Wallace (2/5 stars)
- Non-fiction: Soda and Fizzy Drinks: A Global History, by Judith Levin (4/5 stars)
- Non-fiction: Black Ops & Beaver Bombing: Adventures with Britain’s Wild Mammals, by Fiona Mathews and Tim Kendall (3/5 stars)
- Fantasy manga: A Gentle Noble’s Vacation Recommendation, vol 4, by Misaki, Momochi & Sando (4/5 stars)
- Historical/mystery light novel: The Apothecary Diaries, vol 2, by Natsu Hyuuga (4/5 stars)*
- Classic mystery: The Ten Teacups, by Carter Dickson aka John Dickson Carr (2/5 stars)
* Note: the light novel is completely separate to the manga. It’s the same story/characters, but two totally different formats. Light novels are often illustrated, but are prose fiction, while manga are, well, more like comics. In the case of The Apothecary Diaries, vol 1 of the light novel covers the same events as vols 1-4 of the manga, as I understand it. I am reviewing the light novel here.
I did also post a couple of other features this week!
What I’m reading
Well, “not very much” is the summary, but let’s see — maybe I’ve read more than I thought. Here’s the sneak peek at books I’ve read this week which I plan to review on the blog (eventually):
A quiet week, as I thought. Not sure what I’ll be reading this weekend, if anything, given the travel and the circumstances.
Extra feature
To leave you with a more fun note, a friend set up a list of books that “made” them, and that led me to think about my own… I ended up picking a list of 100 books which have influenced me, and live and breathe with me. A lot of them are a bit arbitrary (and I imposed some arbitrary rules, like mostly not duplicating except for four very important authors), and they’re not all books I’d recommend or endorse, but for better or worse, they tell you a lot about me.
Curious? Here’s the list — you can check off the ones you’ve read, if you like! I’d be curious if anyone can beat my mum and wife’s scores.
Linking up with Reading Reality’s Stacking the Shelves, Caffeinated Reviewer’s The Sunday Post, and the Sunday Salon over at Readerbuzz, as usual!
I got 7, but it will be 8 soon when I get to John Green’s Everything is Tuberculosis.
Sorry about the loss of your grandmother. Funerals can be times of good memories and laughter. I hope you can experience some of that.
Joy’s Book Blog recently posted…Hands Off! #Sunday Salon
Thank you. Sadly my sister won’t be able to make it, because airlines are awful, but we’ll do what we can to make it the day it ought to be.
I think creating a list of the 100 books that made you is a great idea for a challenge. I would like to see your list and I’d like to work on a list of my own.
I’ve never heard of a light novel, and I only know a little about manga, so thanks for the explanations.
Deb Nance at Readerbuzz recently posted…The Sunday Salon: Houston Indie Bookstore Crawl Begins!
I found it really really fun to do, though I had to try not to get too obsessive about it. I think the most recent ~20 books are a bit speculative, for me; we’ll have to see what stays with me.
I only recently got into light novels! I hadn’t quite known what to expect from them. They’re usually pretty fast/easy reading, but can be any kind of topic (Heaven Official’s Blessing is pretty dark at times, for example).
Your list has a lot of books that I had never heard of until I started reading the 1001 Children’s Books You Must Read Before You Grow Up. That list is here, if you are interested: https://docs.google.com/spreadsheets/d/1r3pl-FTA7a_p27r8gI2aOmgN08tQ31mOQaKx6znIT8I/edit?gid=0#gid=0
I’m finding it really interesting with the couple of friends who made their own lists how much the children’s books that’re formative vary by country! I knew it’d be the case, but I think I’d expected a bit more overlap!
So intrigued by your 100 book list. Off to look!
Olivia recently posted…Weekly Reading Update for 4-4-2025
Ha! You and I have 1 book in common – The Hobbit. But I see quite a few that need to be added to my TBR list.
Olivia recently posted…Weekly Reading Update for 4-4-2025
Haha, I’d be curious what you want to read now! It was fun to put the list together.
My condolences on your loss. I suppose there’s no real rush to pick which books you want to get, I hope you end up picking ones you love. I’ve heard good things about Red Sonja!
That sounds like a fun list, I’ll definitely have to go visit it 🙂
My Stacking The Shelves this week is here: https://darkshelfofwonders.com/its-monday-lets-catch-up-%e2%94%822/
I’ve enjoyed some Red Sonja, but that particular one wasn’t a favourite. It’s one of those things where it depends both on the approach of the specific writer, and the story they’re telling, and I didn’t mind how Abnett portrays Sonja, but I wasn’t into the story.
An update: I’ve only read 11 books on your list but on the up side a ton of them are on my tbr so maybe one day
I hope you enjoy them when you get to them!
I’m catching up on a lot of older posts, so am just seeing all your news. I’m sorry to hear of your recent loss, and hope the funeral was a comfort on the day.
Thank you. It was, as far as it could be, though my sister didn’t make it back from the US thanks to American Airlines fuckery, so… that didn’t help.