Happy weekend! I had a bit of a bleh week, so I’m determined to fill the weekend with joy, books, and video games.
Books acquired this week
First up, and somewhat inevitably, I really, really needed book three after finishing book two, so I snagged the next volume of After the Disabled God of War Became My Concubine…
I’ve already plunged in, of course! I’m going to be so sad, having to wait until November for volume four… but I hear in this volume some of the slow burn pays off.
I did also borrow two poetry collections from the National Poetry Library, so here those are:
And that’s it for this week, since I’m still very much in “reading the backlog” mode to try to make space for birthday books. (Not so much physical space, there’s still plenty, but given I limit the number of books I can buy in the current year without starting them.)
Posts from this week
As ever, let’s do a bit of a roundup of my posts from the week. It’s been another busy one!
First, the book reviews:
- Historical mystery: A Case of Fear and Favour, by Sally Smith (4/5 stars, “really liked it”)
- Essays: Winter Hours, by Mary Oliver (2/5 stars, “it was okay”)
- Manga: Cat + Gamer, vol 2, by Wataru Nadatani (3/5 stars, “liked it”)
- Fantasy novella: A Palace Near the Wind, by Ai Jiang (1/5 stars, “didn’t like it”)
- Fantasy romance: Mistakenly Saving the Villain, vol 1, by Feng Yu Nie (4/5 stars, “really liked it”)
- Classic mystery: The Magic-Lantern Murders, by Carter Dickson (2/5 stars, “it was okay”)
As ever, three stars isn’t a bad rating, and I didn’t read these books this week. I wrote the reviews weeks/months ago when I read the books, but spread out when I post them to give a variety. If you want to check out what I’ve been reading this week, it’s the next section below!
And non-review posts:
- July Reading Wrap-Up
- Fantasy with Friends: Fantastical Sidekicks
- Top Ten Tuesday: Danmei and Baihe Covers
- What Are You Reading Wednesday
- Book Blogger Hop: Writer, Reader, Editor?
What I’m reading
It’s been a quieter week reading-wise than I’d expected/intended, given the bleh feeling… but oh well! I was also working on ongoing reads of some slow-paced non-fiction, so it’s not as “bad” as it looks, even though three of these are very short. Here are the books I’ve finished this week:
As for this weekend, as usual I have many plans involving reading some manga, finishing volume three of After the Disabled God of War Became My Concubine, finishing the non-fiction I’m reading, etc. Game-wise, I’m planning to finish Whisper of the House, which is a cute game combining Unpacking-style organisation and some exploration… and of course, play some Final Fantasy XIV.
But in the end, it’ll be wherever my whim takes me, of course!
Hope everyone else has had a good week.
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.
I don’t think I’ve ever finished four books in a week, so your progress looks good to me! I hope the weekend brings some joy
It’s been pretty good so far! Not quite as much reading as I’d like, but is there ever?
I hope that you manage to make some space on your shelves. I’m trying to get through my 20 Books of Summer challenge (10 books) but am struggling because I have too many deadline books to get through. I have just got to the point where I am alternating reading a challenge book and a deadline book, not sure how long for.
Have a great weekend!
Emily @ Budget Tales Book Blog
My post:
https://budgettalesblog.wordpress.com/2026/08/08/stacking-the-shelves-162/
Emily @ Budget Tales Book Blog recently posted…Stacking The Shelves
I’m struggling too, just because my mood reading keeps taking me away from them, ahaha. I still want to finish them!
I also need to focus on my backlog; it’s absurd how easily I just ignore it. I am trying to get below 1000 on the TBR, which has always been the goal of my Tackling the TBR posts. I am SO close this year, finally. And yet, here I am with twenty library books checked out, despite owning a significant portion of my TBR. Oi. Hope you have a lovely weekend of reading and gaming!
Mine goes down steadily, especially thanks to my goal in 2025 and 2026 of never having more than 20 books at a time bought in the same year and not started. It’s worked really well so far to avoid more backlog building up.
See, that’s logical. My way of stopping my TBR from growing was to create a sub-TBR in Notes on my phone and it’s absolutely cheating, I know.
Good luck on the backlog books. I have been super focused on reading books on my physical shelves as well. Have a good weekend!
Cindy’s Book Corner recently posted…Stacking the Shelves #218 Sunday Post #215 Sunday Salon #209
Thanks! For me some of them are digital, even; I just want to clear my plate a bit.
I’m sorry you had a bleh week. I never really understand why I sometimes have these. Even doing my favorite things doesn’t always change my mood. Good luck with your attempt to read the backlog.
Deb Nance at Readerbuzz recently posted…The Sunday Salon: Two Wonderful Re-reads; Persian Food; Jury Duty; and a New Ukulele
Yeah, exactly like that. It kinda got better on Friday and has been alright over the weekend, but we’ll see if it survives contact with work, heh.
What did you think of Brimstone Slipstream? I was really taken with it, but it also wasn’t quite like anything I’d read before
Cosmic recently posted…Villain – Psychologically Delightful
I quite liked it, though I don’t know if I’ll read the novel!
I hope the weekend makes up for the bleh week! Books and video games sound like a pretty good plan, and I love that you’re clearing your backlog to make room for birthday books. Happy Reading!
Kat @ Forever Book Lover recently posted…Sunday Recap #6: Beach Days, Books & a Little Kitchen Time
Thank you — so far so good!
I don’t think my reading week ever goes as intended! Have a great week! Here’s my post: https://bonniereadsandwrites.com/2026/08/09/sunday-post-and-sunday-salon-rain-and-sunflowers/
Bonnie Reads and Writes recently posted…Sunday Post and Sunday Salon: Rain and Sunflowers
Heh, I know that feeling for sure.
I hope you’re past your bleh weeks and were able to enjoy some fun reading this weekend!
Olivia recently posted…Weekly Reading Update 8-8-2026
Thank you, it’s been a good one so far! And there’s still a liiiiittle bit left.
I hope this week is better!
Thanks for sharing, happy reading
Shelleyrae @ Book’d Out recently posted…It’s Monday! What Are You Reading? #SundayPost #SundaySalon
Thanks, here’s hoping! Work hasn’t been too bad so far, at least.
Bleh weeks are so annoying! As for backlogs…I hope in 2027 I can NOT do so many dang reading challenges and focus on the books I have in my apartment. I’ve been trying to do that for 3 years now, but no success yet.
Hope the weekend and this current week are more fun and energized for you!
Jinjer recently posted…Parking Woes
I’ve been doing pretty well the last two years, but I think I might’ve picked off most of the low-hanging fruit already, haha.