Happy weekend! It’s been a nice short week for me, and I’m still glad to see the weekend. Hope everyone has fun plans — even if “fun plans” means hiding away in a cosy corner with a book, of course.

Books acquired this week

I’m trying not to buy too many books, but a couple of impulse buys here and there can’t hurt when I plan to read them right away, right?

Posts from this week

• Bookish comics: I Will Judge You By Your Bookshelf, by Grant Snider (2/5 stars, “it was okay”)
• Fantasy: Clockwork Boys, by T. Kingfisher (4/5 stars, “really liked it”)
• Poetry: Eat the World, by Marina Diamandis (1/5 stars, “didn’t like it”)
• Fantasy: Reignclowd Palace, by Philippa Rice (4/5 stars, “really liked it”)
• Non-fiction: First Light: Switching on Stars at the Dawn of Time, by Emma Chapman (2/5 stars, “it was okay”)
• Crime: Nine Times Nine, by Anthony Boucher (3/5 stars, “liked it”)
• Non-fiction: Crap: A History of Cheap Stuff in America, by Wendy A. Woloson (3/5 stars, “liked it”)

And the other posts:

• Top Ten Tuesday: Fall TBR
• What Are You Reading Wednesday

What I’m reading

It’s still been a good week for reading, though a lot of these are quite short! Here’s a peek at the books I’ve finished and intend to review on the blog:

I’m planning to play a lot of Final Fantasy XIV this weekend, as I want to work on my weapon relic, so that’s going to be fun! But I do want to finish off the books I need to finish to get a blackout on Book Spin Bingo on Litsy, which means I’ll be doing plenty of reading too, as the end of the month approaches. My first focus is You Should Be So Lucky, by Cat Sebastian, which I’m loving, but… I have quite a bit of reading to do!

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

Welp, I’m back home! And taking a couple of days off to turn this into a long weekend and get some chill time, because oooof.

Books acquired this week

This week featured a quick library trip to grab my hold, and a few impulsive/random choices!

Vera Wong’s Unsolicited Advice for Murderers was the hold, the others were random choices. Of the poetry, I know I like some of Simon Armitage’s work, but Andrew Motion’s has previously left me cold and I don’t think I’ve read anything by Helen Tookey before, except maaaaybe in an anthology. So we’ll see how I get on with those — I’ve already made a start!

I did also snag a book from Netgalley because I felt like reading a novella, I have auto-approval, and… dinosaurs.

Posts from this week

I kept up posting, mostly, though I skipped Top Ten Tuesday this week due to a combo of circumstances and a prompt that didn’t call to me. So it’s mostly reviews:

• Fantasy manga: The Other World’s Books Depend on the Bean Counter manga, vol. 3, by Kazuki Irodori (3/5 stars, “liked it”)
• Classic play: R.U.R., by Karel Čapek (3/5 stars, “liked it”)
• Non-fiction: It’s The End of the World, by Adam Roberts (2/5 stars, “it was okay”)
• Romance: Mr Collins in Love, by Lee Welch (4/5 stars, “really liked it”)
• Short mysteries: Resorting to Murder: Holiday Mysteries, ed. Martin Edwards (2/5 stars, “it was okay”)
• Non-fiction: Medieval Bodies: Life, Death and Art in the Middle Ages, by Jack Hartnell (3/5 stars, “liked it”)

And I did post a What Are You Reading Wednesday post!

What I’m reading

I’ve been reading a lot again this week, especially with being mostly offline from Saturday through to late night on Tuesday! Here’s the usual sneak peek at what I’ve finished and plan to review on the blog — it doesn’t look quite as impressive as last week, but some of the books were quite long/slow.

 

I’m not sure what I’ll focus on over the weekend, yet. Maybe I’ll finally start on KJ Charles’ The Duke at Hazard, and there’s a good chance I’ll start reading another British Library Crime Classics collection (probably Blood on the Tracks)… but to be honest, I haven’t settled to anything yet!

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

As a head’s up, I’m away over the weekend, down in Wales for the interment of my grandparents’ ashes, and there’s no broadband connection at the house now. I will visit back and reply to comments as usual, but maybe not until Wednesday or so (it depends how long my phone’s data lasts me, and how much time I spend online). That doesn’t mean I’m not enthusiastic to talk books and see what you’ve been reading as usual!

Books acquired this week

I wasn’t expecting to have anything, but then I finished the last volume of Solo Leveling that I owned, and remembered I had a gift voucher… and also, my British Library Crime Classic subscription book arrived. So I ended up having some nice book post after all!

I dived on Solo Leveling right away, while waiting for everyone to be ready for the drive down to Wales. The story comes to a climax, and I was sooo eager to see what happens, and the books were the perfect length to finish up before we left… though I admit I hadn’t expected to have time to finish both of them.

I also grabbed a book from the library to read on the drive, since I’ve been curious about it a while:

I’ve read this already as well!

Posts from this week

A quick roundup of the reviews posted this week:

• Non-fiction: 100 Dresses, by The Costume Institute (3/5 stars, “liked it”)
• Graphic novel: Fence: Rivals, by C.S. Pacat & Johanna the Mad (4/5 stars, “really liked it”)
• Fantasy: Into the Riverlands, by Nghi Vo (4/5 stars, “really liked it”)
• Fantasy romance: Gwen & Art Are Not In Love, by Lex Croucher (2/5 stars, “it was okay”)
• Non-fiction: Rebel Bodies: A Guide to the Gender Health Gap Revolution, by Sarah Graham (4/5 stars, “really liked it”)
• Non-fiction: The Postal Paths, by Alan Cleaver (3/5 stars, “liked it”)

Other posts:

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

What I’m reading

I’ve been reading a lot this week, so hold onto your hats — here’s the preview of the books I finished which I plan to review on the blog!

 

Over the weekend, it’s likely that I’ll read quite a lot because of the lack of broadband. I actually set up a mini-bingo card to keep me occupied, so I guess my next read (and very appropriate too) will be focusing on finishing Tir: The Story of the Welsh Landscape. After that, probably The Story of the Bayeux Tapestry… but we’ll see! As ever, I’ll follow my whims.

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

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!