Woo, Saturday!

The upcoming week is going to be a bit weird for various reasons (with the interment of my grandparents’ ashes coming up next week, travel, etc), but I have lots of reading plans to keep me cheerful and occupied.

Books acquired this week

This week, I haven’t bought or been given anything new, but I did drop by the library, so I do have some interesting finds! First up, fiction/graphic novels:

And then a bunch of non-fiction! Something of an unusual mix, as ever — and that’s the way I like it.

Posts from this week

It was a quieter week on the blog this week, but let’s do a quick roundup of the reviews:

• SF mystery: The Last Murder at the End of the World, by Stuart Turton (3/5 stars, “liked it”)
• Fantasy light novel: The Apothecary Diaries, vol 4, by Natsu Hyuuga (4/5 stars, “really liked it”)
• History: The Mysterious Case of the Victorian Female Detective, by Sara Lodge (4/5 stars, “really liked it”)
• Fantasy manhwa: Solo Leveling, vol 4, by Dubu (4/5 stars, “really liked it”)
• Fantasy romance: Sorcery & Small Magics, by Maiga Doocy (4/5 stars, “really liked it”)
• History: The Paper Chase: The Printer, The Spymaster & The Hunt for the Rebel Pamphleteers, by Joseph Hone (3/5 stars, “liked it”)

The only other post was my chatter for What Are You Reading Wednesday!

What I’m reading

I feel like I’ve done quite a lot of reading this week, but I haven’t yet counted it up, so let’s see. As usual, here’s the sneak peek of the books I’ve finished off this week (excluding any I don’t intend to review on the blog)…

So… yep, quite a lot of reading! This weekend I’m probably looking to dig into Uketsu’s Strange Houses, since it’s probably due back at the library. I’ll probably also read one of the library books from a couple of weeks ago, Nineteenth-Century Fashion in Detail. Other than that… who knows!

Linking up with Reading Reality’s Stacking the Shelves, Caffeinated Reviewer’s The Sunday Post, and the Sunday Salon over at Readerbuzz.

Yay, it’s the weekend! I feel the need for the chill time, since I had a horrible headache last night. And I have so many reading plans!

Books acquired this week

Last week I posted part of my birthday haul, but not all, as I was kinda spoiled and it was a lot. So here’s the rest, plus the books my wife got me to celebrate the completion of my degree!

First up, more books from my wife:

And here are the books from my parents and sister!

I’ve been digging into some of these already, and I can’t wait to read more.

Posts from this week

As ever, it’s been busy on the blog! Let’s see what we’ve got — first up, the reviews:

• Classic crime: The Odd Flamingo, by Nina Bawden (2/5 stars, “it was okay”)
• Comic: Immortal Red Sonja, vol 2, by Dan Abnett et al (1/5 stars, “didn’t like it”)
• Fantasy romance: The Other World’s Books Depend on the Bean Counter: Magic Research Exchange Plan, by Yatsuki Wakutsu (4/5 stars, “really liked it”)
• Historical fiction: The Sea Road, by Margaret Elphinstone (4/5 stars, “really liked it”)
• Science: Preventable: How A Pandemic Changed the World and How To Stop the Next One, by Devi Sridhar (3/5 stars, “liked it”)
• Non-fiction: A Brief Atlas of the Lighthouses at the End of the World, by González Macías (3/5 stars, “liked it”)
• Fantasy manga: A Gentle Noble’s Vacation Recommendation, vol 10, by Misaki et al (4/5 stars, “really liked it”)

And a couple of non-review posts:

• Top Ten Tuesday: Reading Spots
• What Are You Reading Wednesday

What I’m reading

As ever, let’s start with a peek at the books I’ve finished this week which I plan to review on the blog!

A pretty good reading week, especially as I also fit in a couple of rereads.

This weekend, I want to finish my Book Spin Bingo reads: Paladin’s Strength (T. Kingfisher) and Stony Jack and the Lost Jewels of Cheapside (Victoria Shepherd) are the last two, and I’m most of the way through both of them. I also want to read more of Cackle (Rachel Harrison) and Rebel Bodies (Sarah Graham), but we’ll see — I’ve also got back to my playthrough of Clair Obscur: Expedition 33, and might have plans to game with people in Final Fantasy XIV as well. The most important thing is that I spend some time relaxing, regardless.

Hope everyone has a good weekend!

Linking up with Reading Reality’s Stacking the Shelves, Caffeinated Reviewer’s The Sunday Post, and the Sunday Salon over at Readerbuzz.

Happy weekend! I must admit, I’m looking forward to it: despite having a day off for my birthday, it’s been a weird and tiring week, in part because I got my exam results. I’m proud to announce that I will soon be graduating with merit for my MSc in Infectious Diseases from the London School of Hygiene & Tropical Medicine. I just missed a distinction, too, so given everything that’s happened this year, I’m very proud of what I achieved.

But now it’s definitely time to chill.

Books acquired this week

This week was my birthday, so of course I got spoiled! I think I’ll split things into multiple posts, just because oof, there’s quite a bit, and I also had a library haul too. I think for this week, I’ll start by showing off the fiction books my wife got me for my birthday, and my library haul.

So first up, the birthday gifts that were fiction!

Quite the haul, I know! I’ve seen reviews from several blogs I follow about most of these lately, so I’m looking forward to reading them. Peerless was recommended by a fellow danmei lover on Discord, though, and Reignclowd Palace just caught my eye with the pretty cover (and I liked the first chapter), so I added it to my wishlist.

Aaand here’s the library haul, too!

I’d put Strange Houses on hold, since I really liked Strange Pictures (such a weird book, but fascinating), and the others were somewhat random picks that happened to be close together in the non-fiction section. The postal books will probably get reviewed for Postcrossing’s blog.

Next week I’ll show off the books my sister got me for my birthday, the non-fiction my wife got me, and a couple of other books my wife got me to celebrate my exam results!

Posts from this week

First up, the reviews…

• Non-fiction: Underwear: Fashion in Detail, by Eleri Lynn (3/5 stars, “liked it”)
• Classic mystery: The Judas Window, by Carter Dickson AKA John Dickson Carr (4/5 stars, “really liked it”)
• Romance manga: A Side Character’s Love Story, vol 16, by Akane Tamura (4/5 stars, “really liked it”)
• Fantasy mystery: The Undetectables, by Courtney Smyth (2/5 stars, “it was okay”)
• Non-fiction: Most Delicious Poison, by Noah Whiteman (2/5 stars, “it was okay”)
• Archaeology: Beneath Our Feet, by Michael Lewis & Ian Richardson (4/5 stars, “really liked it”)
• Non-fiction: Monsters: A Bestiary of the Bizarre, by Christopher Dell (2/5 stars, “it was okay”)

And the non-review posts:

• Top Ten Tuesday: Doorstoppers
• What Are You Reading Wednesday

What I’m reading

I’ve been doing quite a bit of reading this week, including unearthing some stuff that’d been hanging around on my TBR for a while. It was a pretty satisfying week for reading! Here’s the usual sneak peek at the books I finished and intend to review on the blog:

For this weekend… well, if I want to finish up my Litsy BookSpin list this month and get a blackout on my bingo card, I need to get back to reading some of the books I’ve got on the go, and start on a couple more! I want to finish Laura Spinney’s Proto, for a start, and maybe start reading Margaret Elphinstone’s The Sea Road.

But as ever, it’s wherever my whim takes me: if it feels like too much pressure, I’ll just read whatever I like. Reading goals aren’t any use if they make you feel like you’re missing out or not having fun.

Hope everyone has a good weekend.

Linking up with Reading Reality’s Stacking the Shelves, Caffeinated Reviewer’s The Sunday Post, and the Sunday Salon over at Readerbuzz, as usual!

Weekend again, wooo! Not sure yet what (if any) plans I have, other than helping move some unpacked boxes to our storage unit and some old packaging and boxes that can’t be re-used to the tip (the house looks so much bigger now we’re getting more unpacked!). Probably mostly reading and gaming, which will be nice.

Books acquired this week

A few library books first, from an impromptu trip to the library!

I actually read the first two sat at a coffee shop after a long bike ride that ended with a stop at the library before going home. They were quick reads, but also I was there a while due to tiredness, ahaha.

I’ve been meaning to read Queer as Folklore for a while, so that was what I was at the library to pick up. The other two were incidental. I haven’t dug into it yet, but I’m curious for sure.

Other than that, I also got this month’s British Library Crime Classic, this time by an author I knew but not for crime fiction!

I’ve already finished this one; it was fun, but not special.

Posts from this week

As usual, let’s do a recap! Here go the reviews:

• Historical mystery: Murder at the Dolphin Hotel, by Helena Dixon (2/5 stars, “it was okay”)
• Graphic novel: Fence, vol 3, by C.S. Pacat & Johanna the Mad (4/5 stars, “really liked it”)
• Fantasy romance: Paladin’s Grace, by T. Kingfisher (4/5 stars, “really liked it”)
• Non-fiction: The Book Forger: The True Story of a Literary Crime that Fooled the World, by Joseph Hone (3/5 stars, “liked it”)
• Short mysteries: Serpents in Eden: Countryside Crimes, ed. Martin Edwards (4/5 stars, “really liked it”)
• Fantasy manhwa: Solo Leveling, vol 3, by Dubu and Chugong (4/5 stars, “really liked it”)
• SF/F short stories: Spirits Abroad, by Zen Cho (3/5 stars, “liked it”)

And other posts:

• Top Ten Tuesday: Book Slump Busters
• What Are You Reading Wednesday

What I’m reading

It doesn’t feel like I’ve been reading a lot this week, but I did finish a few books, so let’s see the sneak peek of the ones I plan to review for the blog:

Not sure what I’ll be reading this weekend, but as ever, I’ll be following my whim. It might feature reading more of T. Kingfisher’s Paladin’s Strength, rereading volume three of The Scum Villain’s Self-Saving System… or something else entirely.

P.S. I added an invisible captcha to help cut down on spam, and people still seem to be commenting without a problem. Still, if you have any trouble commenting today, especially if it says anything about failing a captcha, can you shoot me a quick email at bibliophibianbreathesbooks@gmail.com? Thank you!

Linking up with Reading Reality’s Stacking the Shelves, Caffeinated Reviewer’s The Sunday Post, and the Sunday Salon over at Readerbuzz, as usual!

Happy weekend! I’ve had a pretty good week, and even managed to get out on my bicycle for the first time in a while, meaning I’m now signed up and ready to go at the library. For now, I didn’t get any physical books out, but I’m going to look through my wishlist and hope that the Library Extension I use for my browser will pick up something the new library has available…

Books acquired this week

I didn’t get any books for my anniversary (gasp! but I did get a lovely new geeky sweater) — but I did manage to find myself some books in the bookshop, during my trip into town to register at the library, to no one’s surprise.

I also got a new ARC:

I hadn’t noticed it was PDF only, so it can’t be sent to my Kobo, which makes it a bit more awkward to read… but it does sound fun, so hopefully it’ll be alright on my older Onyx Boox device.

And finally, a hold came in on Libby:

Posts from this week

First up, the reviews!

• Historical romance: The Duke Heist, by Erica Ridley (4/5 stars, “really liked it”)
• Fashion history: 18th-Century Fashion in Detail, by Susan North (4/5 stars, “really liked it”)
• Poetry: Selling Manhattan, by Carol Ann Duffy (2/5 stars, “it was okay”)
• Graphic novels: The All-Nighter, vol 3, by Chip Zdarsky et al (3/5 stars, “liked it”)
• Fantasy romance: The Other World’s Books Depend on the Bean Counter (light novel), vol 2, by Yatsuki Wakutsu (4/5 stars, “really liked it”)
• Children’s fantasy: Finn Family Moomintroll, by Tove Jansson (4/5 stars, “really liked it”)
• History: The Medieval Scriptorium: Making Books in the Middle Ages, by Sara J. Charles (4/5 stars, “really liked it”)

And of course some other posts:

• Top Ten Tuesday: British Library Crime Classics
• WWW Wednesday

What I’m reading

As ever, let’s start with a sneak peek at the books I’ve finished this week which I intend to review on the blog. I did also do a couple of rereads, which I’m not going to review again, so it’s been a busy reading week!

As for reading this weekend, hmmm. I want to get on with reading Most Delicious Poison (Noah Whiteman), which I’m finding a touch frustrating, but has plenty of fascinating chemistry in it. I also want to dig into my new volumes of Solo Leveling, and probably start on T. Kingfisher’s Paladin’s Strength.

So there’s plenty of options as always… we’ll see what happens!

Linking up with Reading Reality’s Stacking the Shelves, Caffeinated Reviewer’s The Sunday Post, and the Sunday Salon over at Readerbuzz, as usual!

Wooo! I’m finally writing this from the new house — and all my books are sorted and on the shelves! There’s still unpacking to do here and there, but the books instantly make it more like home for me. I haven’t been doing a lot of reading since I’ve been so busy, but my new recliner/reading nook is all set now, so here’s hoping there’ll be plenty of reading over the weekend.

Books acquired this week

N/a, once more! As I mentioned last week, it’s my wedding anniversary on 5th August, and my birthday on 20th August, so I’m trying to leave some books on my wishlist for people to get me, ahaha.

Posts from this week

Despite not getting as much time to read, I at least mostly kept up with posting reviews etc this week!

• Historical fantasy: The Apothecary Diaries (light novel), vol 3, by Natsu Hyuuga (3/5 stars, “liked it”)
• Horror: What Stalks the Deep, by T. Kingfisher (4/5 stars, “really liked it”)
• Romance: The Governess Gambit, by Erica Ridley (4/5 stars, “really liked it”)
• Non-fiction: The Buried City: Unearthing the Real Pompeii, by Gabriel Zuchtriegel (4/5, “really liked it”)
• Fantasy manga: A Gentle Noble’s Vacation Recommendation, by Misaki et al (4/5 stars, “really liked it”)
• Fantasy romance: Cinder House, by Freya Marske (3/5 stars, “liked it”)

I did also do some other feature posts:

• Top Ten Tuesday: Beach Reads (Sort of)
• What Are You Reading Wednesday

What I’m reading

I finished just one book this week:

I intend to spend a bit more time this weekend reading, now that things are a bit settled in. I’ve started on a backlog book, Gwen and Art are Not In Love (Lex Croucher), which I intend to read more of, and I’d like to make progress with my reread of Dreadful Company (Vivian Shaw) too. But we’ll see! As ever, it’ll be down to whim.

Linking up with Reading Reality’s Stacking the Shelves, Caffeinated Reviewer’s The Sunday Post, and the Sunday Salon over at Readerbuzz, as usual!

As promised last week, now I have many bookcases! And we’ll get the books from storage next week and get them all onto the shelves. I’m looking forward to it very much, it’ll really make things feel like home.

Anyway, let’s get to the books.

Books acquired this week

I didn’t get anything for myself — I’m trying not to get anything at the moment, because my birthday’s next month, and my 9th wedding anniversary (20th anniversary of us getting together), and I’m trying to cap how many books I buy without reading them, this year. I’m allowed 20 at a time bought this year and unread, and right now I’m at 15.

I need to get busy with reading, so my wife can spoil me a bit more!

I did get a book for my wife, though, and I might as well highlight that here, because I might read it eventually too:

I’m a wuss about horror, but it does sound intriguing, so I might give it a shot at some stage.

Posts from this week

Let’s start with the reviews, as usual:

• Fantasy romance: The Other World’s Books Depend on the Bean Counter (manga), vol 2, by Kazuki Irodori (4/5 stars, “really liked it”)
• Historical fantasy: Castle of the Winds, by Christina Baehr (1/5 stars, “didn’t like it”)
• Epistolary novel: The Correspondent, by Virginia Evans (4/5 stars, “really liked it”)
• Historical romance: The Perks of Loving a Wallflower, by Erica Ridley (4/5 stars, “really liked it”)
• History: Heavenly Bodies: Cult Treasures and Spectacular Saints from the Catacombs, by Paul Koudounaris (4/5 stars, “really liked it”)
• Historical mystery: A Case of Life and Limb, by Sally Smith (4/5 stars, “really liked it”)
• Romance manga: A Side Character’s Love Story, vol. 15, by Akane Tamura (3/5 stars, “liked it”)

As a reminder, these aren’t the books I read this week, just the reviews that got posted. Sometimes I read less, sometimes I read more, so I save up reviews sometimes, and also try to give a bit of a range of genres rather than posting a glut of fantasy or non-fiction all at once. I’ll discuss what I’ve been reading this week below!

But first, the other posts from this week:

• Top Ten Tuesday: Secondary Fantasy Worlds
• What Are You Reading Wednesday

What I’m reading

Now’s the part where I figure out what I’ve read this week and share some sneak previews. It’s been a busy week, it was surprisingly difficult to drag my mind back to the start of it… but here are the covers of the books I’ve read this week and intend to review on the blog (eventually)!

You can always check my StoryGraph if you’re interested in peeking at the reviews ahead of whenever they get posted on the blog. As you see, I read quite a lot this week, plus finished a reread of The Scum Villain’s Self-Saving System, vol 2, so I’m quite happy.

As for the weekend ahead, what will I read? I’m getting back into reading a book about Britain’s census, The Butcher, The Baker, The Candlestick Maker, by Roger Hutchinson, and I’ve been dipping in and out of A History of the World in 47 Borders, by Jonn Elledge. I might finish my reread of Vivian Shaw’s Dreadful Company, for a bit of fiction.

Or I might read something else altogether. Who knows?

Linking up with Reading Reality’s Stacking the Shelves, Caffeinated Reviewer’s The Sunday Post, and the Sunday Salon over at Readerbuzz, as usual!

Saturday again, huh? Time is flying by! Still not living in the new house for complicated reasons that I won’t go into here, but we’re getting closer to that point, and soon we’ll get my bookcases properly set up — including possibly two new ones. Exciting!

Books acquired this week

Nothing, really, but I will highlight a book I snagged on Kobo Plus! I’ll be getting myself a print copy in due course (KJ Charles’ work is an auto-buy for me), but in the meantime, I was very excited to realise this was on Kobo Plus.

I’m not sure when I’ll get to it, because I’m so behind on reading, but it’s very nice to have it there.

Posts from this week

It’s been a busy one! Let’s start with the reviews as always:

• Non-fiction: The Cleopatras, by Lloyd Llewellyn-Jones (4/5 stars, “really liked it”)
• Classic children’s: The Moomins and the Great Flood, by Tove Jansson (3/5 stars, “liked it”)
• Fantasy manhua: Solo Leveling, vol 2, by Dubu & Chugong (4/5 stars, “really liked it”)
• Fantasy romance: The Baby Dragon Café, by A.T. Qureshi (2/5 stars, “it was okay”)
• Poetry: Standing Female Nude, by Carol Ann Duffy (3/5 stars, “liked it”)
• Non-fiction: Chinese Dress in Detail, by Sau Fong Chan (5/5 stars, “it was amazing”)
• Classic children’s: Comet in Moominland, by Tove Jansson (4/5 stars, “really liked it”)

Other posts:

• Top Ten Tuesday: Titles with Honorifics
• What Are You Reading Wednesday
• Discussion: Finishing 1-star reads

What I’m reading

I’ve done a lot of reading this week, but not such a lot of finishing books. I’ve lowered my reading goal for the year and am just accepting that given everything that’s happened this year (losing Grandma, final exams, moving) it just isn’t happening, and that’s fine — it was a big goal anyway (400 books in the year).

So, no kicking myself, and anyway, I read fast and a lot compared to a lot of people! I’m doing just fine as long as I’m having fun.

Here are the books I finished this week that I’ll (eventually) review on the blog, though you can always check my StoryGraph to see my thoughts sooner if you like:

For this weekend, I’m not 100% sure what I’ll read, but more of T. Kingfisher’s Clockwork Boys, which I started on Thursday, is pretty much a certainty. Probably I’ll read more of Wendy A. Woloson’s Crap: A History of Cheap Stuff in America, which I got back into this week.

But wherever my whim takes me, that’s just fine: “As my Whimsy takes me” is my motto too, in honour of a certain fictional character. (You get a lot of brownie points if you know who!)

Linking up with Reading Reality’s Stacking the Shelves, Caffeinated Reviewer’s The Sunday Post, and the Sunday Salon over at Readerbuzz, as usual!

Moving continues! As of last night we were done with the old flat, but there are many boxes, much new furniture, and many flatpacks in our future. I’m still at my parents’ house for now, but this week we’ll probably get my office set up and then I’ll move in too.

For now though, this weekend we’re collectively taking as much of a break as we can. Monday’s soon enough to do more, now we’ve finally finished up with the old flat.

Books acquired this week

Nothing major this week, but I did get my British Library Crime Classic book for the month, and I snagged a manga to read when I wasn’t feeling up to anything else.

I’ve warmed up to John Dickson Carr’s work over the years, but I prefer the Gideon Fell books, so we’ll see how I get along with this one. The manga was a bit of a random choice, recommended by a friend from another site.

Posts from this week

There’s been a lot of activity this week, so let’s do the roundup!

• Classic crime: Payment Deferred, by C.S. Forester (1/5 stars)
• Poetry: A Shropshire Lad, by A.E. Housman (2/5 stars)
• Non-fiction: Queer City: Gay London from the Romans to the Present Day, by Peter Ackroyd (1/5 stars)
• Graphic novel: Fence, vol 2, by C.S. Pacat & Johanna the Mad (4/5 stars)
• Fantasy: Siren Queen, by Nghi Vo (4/5 stars)
• Fantasy romance: The Other World’s Books Depend on the Bean Counter, light novel vol 1, by Yatsuki Wakutsu (4/5 stars)

But also some other posts:

• Top Ten Tuesday: Books I Want to Reread
• What Are You Reading Wednesday
• Discussion: How to Rate

Busy, as I said!

What I’m reading

It’s been a bit of a hectic week, but I did get some reading done… partly due to rereading Tove Jansson’s Moomin books! Here’s the covers of the books I read this week which I intend to review on the blog eventually:

Over the weekend, I’m not sure. A bit more of the Moomin books, most likely, and probably I’ll read Freya Marske’s Cinder House, but… mostly I’ll just follow my whim.

Linking up with Reading Reality’s Stacking the Shelves, Caffeinated Reviewer’s The Sunday Post, and the Sunday Salon over at Readerbuzz, as usual!

Oop, it’s the weekend! And today the movers are coming, so this post has been prewritten and I just need to remember to push the publish button. (I’d schedule it, but then WordPress wouldn’t send out any emails saying there was a post, because they have some kind of bug.)

Edit before posting: things didn’t work out for me to post this earlier, so wooo, the movers have been! It’s been a busy, busy day.

Books acquired this week

Two books to review this week, both of which are pretty exciting!

Thank you to Netgalley and Tor for both of them. I’m hoping to tuck into them veeeery soon.

Posts from this week

Time for the roundup of reviews posted…

• Fantasy: Mortal Follies, by Alexis Hall (4/5 stars)
• Short mystery stories: Cyanide in the Sun and Other Stories of Summertime Crime, ed. Martin Edwards (3/5 stars)
• Non-fiction: The Future of Dinosaurs: What We Don’t Know, What We Can, and What We’ll Never Know, by David Hone (4/5 stars)
• Non-fiction: A History of the World in Twelve Shipwrecks, by David Gibbins (4/5 stars)
• Fantasy manga: A Gentle Noble’s Vacation Recommendation, vol 8, by Misaki et al (4/5 stars)
• Fantasy short stories: A Breviary of Fire, by Marie Brennan (4/5 stars)

What I’m reading

As usual, let’s start with the roundup of books read since last week…

It wasn’t a huge reading week by my standards — especially because I finished three of those last weekend and then didn’t read much the rest of the week, but it’s not too surprising, what with the move!

I’m not sure if I’ll be reading much this weekend, or what I might be reading. I guess for that we’ll have to wait and see.

Linking up with Reading Reality’s Stacking the Shelves, Caffeinated Reviewer’s The Sunday Post, and the Sunday Salon over at Readerbuzz, as usual!