Weekend! Whew. It’s been a rough week, and I’m glad to see my weekend and my reading time.
Books acquired this week
I didn’t really expect/intend to get books this week, but it kinda happened anyway. I’d almost forgotten my hold on Murder at Gulls Nest, a book I saw a bunch of other bloggers post about; my wife picked it up for me once I got the notification it was ready! And I got a couple of new options out from the National Poetry Library, too:
I also got approved for another ARC on Netgalley, oops! So there’s this to look forward to as well:
Posts from this week
As ever, I’ve posted a whole bunch of reviews, so let’s start off with the roundup of those:
- Romance manga: Star and Hedgehog, by Nayuta Nago (2/5 stars, “it was okay”)
- SF mystery: The Spare Man, by Mary Robinette Kowal (3/5 stars, “liked it”)
- Non-fiction: Church Going: A Stonemason’s Guide to the Churches of the British Isles, by Andrew Ziminski (3/5 stars, “liked it”)
- Poetry: Afterwardness, by Mimi Khalvati (4/5 stars, “really liked it”)
- Graphic novel: Bipolar Bear and the Terrible, Horrible, No Good, Very Bad Health Insurance: A Fable for Grown-Ups, by Kathleen Founds (3/5 stars, “liked it”)
- Fantasy graphic novel: Quince, by Sebastian Kadlecik, Kit Steinkellner and Emma Steinkellner (3/5 stars, “liked it”)
- Fantasy romance (danmei): Grandmaster of Demonic Cultivation (light novel), vol 5, by Mo Xiang Tong Xiu (4/5 stars, “really liked it”)
As ever, it’s actually been a while since I read most of these, since I try to hold reviews back and provide some variety (rather than review 40 graphic novels in a row, which I could do with my backlog of reviews!).
I have done some other posts this week, so here they are:
- Fantasy with Friends: Tolkien (discussing the portrayal of good and evil in LotR)
- Top Ten Tuesday: Books for Armchair Travellers
- What Are You Reading Wednesday
What I’m reading
Work’s been a little, uh, intense this week, so I didn’t get a lot of time for myself — and when I did, I found it hard to get into the mood for reading, alas. Still, I did do some reading in the last week, and as ever, here’s a sneak peek of the ones that I will review on the blog… eventually:
As for this weekend, once I’ve managed to unwind a bit, I hope to spend more time with Julie Leong’s The Keeper of Magic Things, and continue reading the Grandmaster of Demonic Cultivation manhua. I settled in a bit with Amy Coombe’s Stay for a Spell, so maybe I’ll read more of that too.
It’d be lovely to get a lot of reading done, but I’m conscious of being a bit frazzled, so we’ll see!
Linking up with Reading Reality’s Stacking the Shelves, Caffeinated Reviewer’s The Sunday Post, the Sunday Salon over at Readerbuzz, and It’s Monday! What Are You Reading? at The Book Date.
Looks like you lots of great reading choices this week! I feel like I’ve read something by Jess Kidd, or at least own one of their books. This one sounds fun
The idea of an ex-nun investigator is very tempting, ahaha. Feels like it might have some classic mystery vibes too.
Hopr you like Murder at Gulls Nest. Looks interesting.
Harvee recently posted…Bookstores and Bookshops in Rom Coms and Other Books
I’m looking forward to giving it a shot; an ex-nun as the detective sounds like a fun take.
I hope that you manage to chill this weekend. I got approved for Twigs Traveling Tomes which I am excited about. I probably won’t get to read it for a few months yet though I have had my eye on that Jess Kidd one, but haven’t done anything about it
Have a great weekend!
Emily @ Budget Tales Book Blog
My post:
https://budgettalesblog.wordpress.com/2026/02/21/stacking-the-shelves-141/
Emily @ Budget Tales Book Blog recently posted…Stacking The Shelves
I’m trying to get round to ARCs quickly, but I may have slightly overdone it lately, haha. We’ll see!
Yay for the weekend and new books! Enjoy both!
Cindy’s Book Corner recently posted…Stacking the Shelves #203 Sunday Post #200 Sunday Salon #194
Thank you! So far so good, hehe.
Wain sounds so interesting?! (I’m part Scottish and live in Scotland but I feel like I know so little about Scottish folklore…)
Keira @Keira’s Bookmark recently posted…Books I acquired this February | Stacking the Shelves #2
I quite liked Wain! It’s aimed at younger readers and sometimes I found the poems a bit lacking in subtlety, but the art is lovely and there were some poems I really liked.
I’m sorry you had such an intense week. I hope this weekend proves to be a relaxing one for you.
And I hope you get time to enjoy all those wonderful books.
Deb Nance at Readerbuzz recently posted…The Sunday Salon: Valentine’s Day, Mardi Gras, Early Voting, The Great Backyard Bird Count, and More
Thank you! The weekend’s going well so far.
Looks like some good reading in your future – and in your past! 😀 I’m curious about Murder at Gulls Nest.
Olivia recently posted…Weekly Reading Update 2-21-2026
Indeed! 😀 I’m looking forward to giving Murder at Gulls Nest a shot, it sounds fun.
I hope you were able to get some relaxing and reading time in this weekend. Enjoy your books and I hope this upcoming week is easier for you.
Yvonne @ Socrates Book Reviews recently posted…The Weekend Review – February 21st-February 23rd
Thanks! So far it’s going a bit better, haha.
Oh I really enjoyed both Julie Leong books. I will be getting to Nobody’s Baby soon and I hope you are able to get it too.
Anne – Books of My Heart This is my Sunday Post
I reaaaally want to read Nobody’s Baby, I’d better put in my preorder!
I hope your upcoming workweek is less intense! I love the cover of Twig’s Traveling Tomes.
Karis @ This Side of Storyland recently posted…The Sunday Salon #2
Thanks! I hope so too, ahaha — so far so good, though of course, it’s only Monday lunchtime. I’m looking forward to Twig’s Traveling Tomes!
I hope this week is better for you, and you get some reading time.
Aj @ Read All The Things! recently posted…The Sunday Post #398
Thank you! I hope so too. So far so good, but since it’s only Monday lunchtime, there’s plenty of time for that to change, ahaha. Better snatch some reading time while I can.
Hope you have a good week!
Bree @ BibliophileBree recently posted…Sunday #30
Thanks. Here’s hoping this week goes better, for sure.
I understand you finding it difficult to dive into a book if really stressed out at work – I hope the coming week brings you a bit more relaxation time:).
So far so good, though of course it’s early days!
So you influenced me and I’ve requested Twigs Traveling Tomes, it just sounds so cute!
I also had a poor reading week and it’s not shaping up to be much better this week either.
Wishing you a happy reading week.
Shelleyrae @ Book’d Out recently posted…Top Ten Tuesday: Quotes From/About Books
I’m looking forward to giving it a shot, fingers crossed it’s as fun as it sounds!
My week’s going better — hope yours improves!