Good afternoon, folks! It’s still a weird and busy time around here, but that’s almost the “new normal” for me. It isn’t going to get less busy anytime soon, so I’m just trying my best to do stuff that I enjoy whenever I can.

So, let’s talk about books!

Books acquired this week

First, I got a couple of gifts from my wife, just ’cause:

I’m not a mega-fan of Jane Austen (though I have enjoyed some of her books, sorry Mum), but I’m a sucker for “x in y objects” type books. As for Strange Pictures, I read about it and I’m kinda mesmerised by the idea — and Mood Machine sounds like the perfect way to really understand some of the issues around Spotify. (I’ve been aware of general problems forever, and I always buy the music I like… but it’s hard to resist the convenience of Spotify, so one likes to be at least open-eyed about it.)

And I got a pre-order of a much-awaited book (see below for my review):

Other than that, I also had a quick library trip, partly to pick up my hold of Greenteeth, and partly for a quick browse, in which I picked up a mystery novel I’ve seen around quite a bit, and a non-fiction book that hadn’t been checked out of the library for a few years, on impulse. Here they are:

A random mix, as usual, which is always nice for me.

Posts from this week

First up, a round-up of the reviews I posted:

• Non-fiction: The Other Olympians: A True Story of Gender, Fascism, and the Making of Modern Sport, by Michael Waters (5/5 stars)
• Fantasy manga: A Gentle Noble’s Vacation Recommendation, vol 3, by Misaki, Momochi & Sando (4/5 stars)
• Non-fiction: Everything is Tuberculosis: The History and Persistence of Our Deadliest Infection, by John Green (5/5 stars)
• SF novella: Volatile Memory, by Seth Haddon (4/5 stars)

And other posts:

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

What I’m reading

As ever, first let’s have a peek at the books I’ve finished this week that I plan to review!

As for this weekend, I’m not sure yet what I’ll be reading. Maybe The Apothecary Diaries (light novel), vol 3. We’ll 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!

Hi all! Continues to be a bit of a tough time for me (re: my grandmother’s death as discussed last week), but I do have an extension on my assignments now, which helps a bit. And I got out to the library this week, which is always nice.

Acquired this week

As I said, I got down to the library, so I got a bunch of books out as usual (including my hold).

 

A bit of a weird mix perhaps, but you’re used to that from me.

I did also pop into my local indie bookshop, because indies need our love. I found a couple of options, but picked the first volume of the Solo Levelling manhwa in the end, as someone I know is a big fan.

Posts from this week

Let’s have a bit of a roundup, as usual!

• Fantasy manga: A Gentle Noble’s Vacation Recommendation, vol 2, by Misaki, Momochi & Sando (4/5 stars)
• Fantasy novella: Brighter than Scale, Swifter than Flame, by Neon Yang (4/5 stars)
• Mystery: The Shortest Way to Hades, by Sarah Caudwell (4/5 stars)
• Non-fiction: The End: Surviving the World through Imagined Disasters, by Katie Goh (3/5 stars)
• Classic romance: Wired Love, by Ella Cheever Thayer (3/5 stars)

What I’m reading

I did quite a bit of reading earlier this week, and then stalled out again. Ah well; that’s what my brain does when stressed. Let’s have a look at what I finished:

As for this weekend, I’m trying to settle down with Carter Dickson’s The Ten Teacups, and other than that I’m not sure. Might be some time for some manga/manhwa, if my attention span’s that bad.

As with last week, I might be a little slow to reply/visit back, but I’ll do my best!

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

Well, it’s been a pretty awful week: I went down to Wales in a hurry on Monday to see my grandmother before she died, and stayed at her side until she passed on Tuesday morning. I haven’t been in the mood for reading, really, though I know it does me good so I’ve found time for a chapter or two here and there.

Books acquired this week

None, except that I acquired my own copies of beloved manga I previously borrowed.

Posts from this week

I did manage to get some posts out, in a bid for a bit of normality, so here’s a roundup of the reviews!

• Romance manga: A Side Character’s Love Story, vol 9, by Akane Tamura (4/5 stars)
• Cosy fantasy: The Spellshop, by Sarah Beth Durst (3/5 stars)
• Mystery: Thus Was Adonis Murdered, by Sarah Caudwell (4/5 stars)
• Non-fiction: The New University, by James Coe (2/5 stars)
• Non-fiction: The Light-Eaters: The New Science of Plant Intelligence, by Zoë Schlanger (2/5 stars)

What I’m reading

I’ve only finished one book this week that I plan to review, so here it is:

This weekend, I’m reading a variety of things to try and spark something, so I’m nibbling away at bits of The Rainfall Market, Emily Wilde’s Compendium of Lost Tales, A Brief History of the Countryside in 100 Objects, and The Virtues of Underwear. (Perhaps an odd mix… but that’s how I am.)

My apologies in advance if I’m slow to respond — I will try to reply and return visits.

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

It’s continued to be a busy week, but my wife’s in an orthopaedic boot now, which helps a lot — now we can share some household tasks again!

I got a couple of new books this week, though my reading has still been disrupted by an abundance of personal stuff going on. But let’s talk books while we can…

Books acquired this week

I got a gift book and spent a voucher this week, which is nice. Here they are!

A quiet week, but I’ve had plenty of books to go on with in the last months!

Posts from this week:

It’s been a quiet week for reviews too, but nonetheless, here are the handful I posted:

• Fantasy: The City in Glass, by Nghi Vo (4/5 stars)
• Classic crime: Murder as a Fine Art, by Carol Carnac (4/5 stars)
• Non-fiction: Around the World in 80 Birds, by Mike Unwin, illustrated by Ryuto Miyake (3/5 stars)

And I did post for What Are You Reading Wednesday, too.

What I’m reading:

This weekend I’m trying to finish off February’s bingo card for BookSpinBingo on Litsy, meaning I’m reading Mortal Follies (Alexis Hall), Villainy at Vespers (Joan Cockin) and Emily Wilde’s Compendium of Lost Tales (Heather Fawcett). That’s keeping me plenty busy!

And here are the books I’ve finished this week that I plan to review:

And now it’s time to finish reading Villainy at Vespers! Hope everyone’s having 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!

Last weekend, before heading in for my eye test (and for my wife to get a corneal abrasion checked, so things were already going downhill), I thought to myself, “I feel like I need new books. It feels like that sort of week.”

Reader, I don’t know if I should worry that I cursed us, or just be glad that I stocked up on some extra joy beforehand, because my wife broke an ankle on Sunday and our elderly rabbit has been refusing to eat properly. Since Lisa isn’t supposed to put any weight on that ankle, and we live in a first-floor (that’s second-floor in American) flat which had until yesterday a hole in the floor stretching almost the length of the hallway, it’s been fun and games. There’s also a bunch of associated drama where basically no one in the NHS wants to handle treating the broken ankle, so we’re not going to be seeing the fracture clinic until mid-March at the earliest. (Luckily, A&E did put on a cast.) It’s all a bit much.

So… let’s talk about books, instead!

Acquired this week

I got a couple of finished copies of books I had to review (hello, Emily Wilde’s Compendium of Lost Tales), which I won’t showcase again, but also a bunch of totally new-to-me books. As ever, it’s a bit of a random mix… First up, the non-fiction!

A History of the World in Twelve Shipwrecks and A Brief History of the Countryside in 100 Objects were both on buy-one-get-one-free, and I must confess to loving that kind of history, usually. So I grabbed those somewhat on a whim. I’d wanted The Book Forger for a while, and as for The Cleopatras, I can never really resist Egyptian history. Also, the author is from Cardiff University, and has a very Welsh name, which amused me.

I did also get a couple of new fiction books, one of which (Sorcery and Small Magics) I’d been eyeing for quite a while. Breath of the Dragon I’d come across more recently, and it also looks really good.

So that’s my haul!

Posts from this week

There have been fewer posts than usual because I just haven’t had the mental capacity, but I did get a few reviews up, so let’s do a roundup as usual!

• Fantasy novella: The Orb of Cairado, by Katherine Addison (4/5 stars)
• Crime short stories: Lessons in Crime, ed. Martin Edwards (4/5 stars)
• Non-fiction: The Immune Mind, by Dr Monty Lyman (4/5 stars)
• Non-fiction: Cultish: The Language of Fanaticism, by Amanda Montell (3/5 stars)
• Comic: Immortal Red Sonja, vol 1, by Dan Abnett et al (3/5 stars)

What I’m reading

It’s been a week rather low on reading, given the fact that I’m now doing double the chores, etc, etc. So there’s just one book I read that I plan to review, when I get chance.

I’m hoping to get some more reading time this weekend, and find a way to wind down a bit. I’m just getting started on Katherine Addison’s The Tomb of Dragons, and I’d love to spend more time with that. Wish me luck!

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

Good afternoon! As ever, it’s been a busy week for me, but I’m on track with my studying etc etc, so that means a nice chill weekend (as long as I’m on track, I like to make sure my weekends are work- and study-free zones). Reading time!

…And an eye test and such, but you know, there’s still plenty of time for reading around that.

Acquired this week

This week featured a trip to the library, a new book from my wife, and a book via my British Library Crime Classics subscription. So without further ado, here are the books I picked for myself at the library:

And here’s the books I got from the “blind date with a book” display left over from Christmas — I felt so bad that they’d gone to a lot of effort to wrap them beautifully and hand-decorate them, etc, and there were still a bunch left, so I grabbed all the SF/F ones. I’ll try all three!

I thought I might’ve read Spirits Abroad before, but apparently not, and I’ve read Feist and Lord’s work before and enjoyed it, so all in all, not a bad match for me for something chosen just because it was SF/F!

And then there’s the books I got in the mail, with thanks to my wife for the third Hilary Tamar book by Sarah Caudwell!

I already finished The Sirens Sang of Murder — I’m really loving this series, and irritated the fourth book doesn’t seem to be readily available — and I’m eager to read The Ten Teacups, since I’ve started enjoying John Dickson Carr/Carter Dickson’s work. It’s an “impossible mystery” again (which he was famous for), so I’m very curious how he makes it work this time.

Posts from this week

Aaand here’s the roundup of reviews:

• Historical fantasy manga: The Apothecary Diaries (manga), vol 1, by Nekokurage & Natsu Hyuuga (3/5 stars)
• Historical fantasy/fairytale retelling: A Sweet Sting of Salt, by Rose Sutherland (4/5 stars)
• Classic crime: Mr. Pottermack’s Oversight, by R. Austin Freeman (4/5 stars)
• Science non-fiction: Sing Like Fish, by Amorina Kingdon (4/5 stars)
• Non-fiction: Monsters: A Fan’s Dilemma, by Claire Dederer (4/5 stars)
• Romance manga: A Side Character’s Love Story, vol 8, by Akane Tamura (4/5 stars)

And a What Are You Reading Wednesday post, as well, of course!

What I’m reading

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

 

Over the weekend, I plan to amuse myself by continuing to avoid a bingo on my BookSpinBingo card on Litsy (latest update to it posted here), so I’ll probably read The Tomb of Dragons (Katherine Addison), A Pirate’s Life for Tea (Rebecca Thorne) and Sir Hereward & Mister Fitz (Garth Nix).

But, as ever, I’ll also just go wherever my whim takes me.

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

This post comes to you after a deeply lazy morning on my part, which segued neatly into a deeply lazy early afternoon — I didn’t get out of bed until nearly 2pm, because I was busy reading! And now it’s time to talk books for a bit.

Books acquired this week

I had a lucky week for ARCs — I have auto-approval from Tor on Netgalley, but I was more surprised to get approved for A Drop of Corruption from Random House! Thanks to both for these eARCs.

I also claimed my February book from my wife — every year, for Valentine’s Day, we renew a promise that I get (at least) one book a month of my choice. In practice it’s often more, but still, the choosing of the monthly book is a thing. And this time it was the second book in a mystery series I’m quite enjoying!

Sadly it doesn’t look like the fourth book is available in this edition, but here’s hoping I’ll manage to get my hands on some copy or other. The third book is now on its way to me… given that I devoured The Shortest Way to Hades this morning already.

Posts from this week

Time for a bit of a roundup of the reviews I’ve been posting!

• Mystery: Tea on Sunday, by Lettice Cooper (3/5 stars)
• Romance manga: Star Collector, vol 2, Sophie Schönhammer and Anna Backhausen (3/5 stars)
• Non-fiction: Against Technoableism: Rethinking Who Needs Improvement, by Ashley Shew (4/5 stars)
• Fantasy: The Teller of Small Fortunes, by Julie Leong (5/5 stars)
• Non-fiction: Stonehenge: The Story of a Sacred Landscape, by Francis Pryor (4/5 stars)
• Non-fiction: What An Owl Knows, by Jennifer Ackerman (3/5 stars)

What I’m reading

First off, as usual, here’s a roundup of what I’ve read since the last post, at least assuming I plan to review it — a bit of a sneak peek, if you will.

Not sure what I’ll be reading today, all in all — probably more of The Light Eaters, a fascinating book about plant intelligence, but I’m not sure what else. As my whimsy takes me, I’m sure!

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

Good morning! I’m back in my usual abode, and settled back in — after a bit of a struggle because our internet connection had cut out. (Even worse, turns out it’s because a rodent bit through the cable.) It was good to have a change, and now it’s good to be home!

Without further ado, let’s dig into the doings of this week.

Books acquired this week

Just one, and of course I positively leapt upon it: The Orb of Cairado is out!

I’m hoping to read that this weekend, since I’m currently rereading The Grief of Stones and preparing to read the third of that trilogy.

Posts from this week

Time for the round-up of posts from this week. Let’s see…

• Romance manga: Star Collector, vol 1, by Sophie Schönhammer and Anna Backhausen (2/5 stars)
• Non-fiction: Penguins and Other Sea Birds, by Matt Sewell (3/5 stars)
• SF mystery: The Potency of Ungovernable Impulses, by Malka Older (4/5 stars)
• History: Breakfast Cereal: A Global History, by Kathryn Cornell Dolan (3/5 stars)

And of course, my What Are You Reading Wednesday post!

What I’m reading

As always, let’s start with what I’ve finished up this week (at least, assuming I plan to review it). Here’s a quick peek!

I did also finish up a reread of The Witness for the Dead, and start on rereading The Grief of Stones, which I intend to finish today. Other than that, my reading plans involve the new novella in that world mentioned above, The Orb of Cairado, and then probably I’ll try to get back into reading Sarah Beth Durst’s The Spellshop.

And of course I’ll leave room to read whatever strikes my fancy…

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

Good morning folks! I’ve been enjoying a few days of being a bit less constantly online and doing some extra reading, as planned, and I have a few more days of that before I’m home. I love being in FFXIV at all hours — but this is fun too, and means I’ve been able to settle down for quality reading time. That hasn’t translated into finishing loads of books, but more reading some longer ones.

Books acquired this week:

…None! Would you believe it? My family never would, but it’s true. I popped into the library to return some books, but I didn’t browse since it was only the small branch library and I don’t know my way around that super well, and we were pressed for time.

Posts from this week:

I’ve been posting as normal, so I do have stuff to share here!

• Non-fiction: The Loki Variations: The Man, the Myth, The Mischief, by Karl Johnson (4/5 stars)
• Romance manga: A Side Character’s Love Story, vol 7, by Akane Tamura (3/5 stars)
• Fantasy/romance light novel: My Happy Marriage, vol 1, by Akumi Agitogi (3/5 stars)
• Biography: Agatha Christie, by Lucy Worsley (4/5 stars)
• Non-fiction: Selfish Genes to Social Beings: A Cooperative History of Life, by Jonathan Silvertown (2/5 stars)
• Classic crime: No. 17, by J. Jefferson Farjeon (1/5 stars)

And of course I posted What Are You Reading Wednesday, as usual, but skipped the TTT prompt for the week since these posts have my recent hauls covered.

What I’m reading:

As usual, let’s start with a sneak peek at the books I’ve finished reading this week which I’ll be reviewing soon!

Not as many as I’d kind of hoped, but they were actually pretty substantial reads (aside from A Gentle Noble’s Vacation Recommendation).

As for what I’m reading this weekend, I’m partway through Sheeplands: How Sheep Shaped Wales and the World (Alan Marshall), which is a bit disappointing in that I have questions about the research — Homer didn’t scribe anything into anything, and if you can’t manage to realise that “Homer” is probably a bit of a fiction and that the works attributed to him were likely originally oral works, I don’t know what to do for you.

I’m less sceptical of my fiction read: The Teller of Small Fortunes (Julie Leong) is proving an excellent match for my mood.

Hope everyone else is having a good weekend! Even though I’m a bit more unplugged this weekend, I’m looking forward to visiting blogs as usual, later today — or maybe tomorrow.

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

Good afternoon! It’s been a busy week as ever, and not as much reading time as I’d like, but here’s hoping I’ll find all the time I want today. And without further ado, let’s jump into my new books, etc.

Books acquired this week

This is actually a bit of a catchup; over the last three weeks I’ve been featuring the books I got for Christmas, but some other books have found their way to me now via vouchers I got for Christmas, other miscellaneous gifts, preorders and ARCs. Let’s take a look first at the light novels I’ve got…

Technically volume 4 of Grandmaster of Demonic Cultivation hasn’t arrived yet, and I really don’t know what Waterstones/Royal Mail are playing at there, but I figured I’d feature them all together anyway.

And then there’s the other handful of books I got: a new pop-science book, the new volume of A Gentle Noble’s Vacation Recommendation, and this month’s British Library Crime Classic via my subscription.

I’m excited for Murder as a Fine Art, since I love Carol Carnac/E.C.R. Lorac’s work almost every time.

And finally, here are a couple of review copies I received!

I need to read Necrobane before I can start on Advocate, but I wanted to do that soon anyway.

So as you see, there’s even more to keep me busy! Especially nice since I’m going to be having something of an unplugged week from Wednesday to the following Wednesday, with a bit less gaming time (though I will have my Steam Deck) and a bit more reading time.

Posts from this week:

As ever, let’s have a bit of a roundup.

• Non-fiction: They Came to Slay: The Queer Culture of DnD, by Thom James Carter (4/5 stars)
• Romance: The Paper Boys, by D.P. Clarence (1/5 stars)
• Fantasy novella (ARC): The River Has Roots, by Amal El-Mohtar (4/5 stars)
• Queer comic: Breaks, vol 1, by Emma Vieceli and Malin Rydén (2/5 stars)
• Non-fiction: Enchanted Creatures: Our Monsters and their Meanings, by Natalie Lawrence (2/5 stars)
• Classic crime: The Big Four, by Agatha Christie (3/5 stars)
• Historical fantasy: The Apothecary Diaries (light novel), vol 1, by Natsu Hyuuga (4/5 stars)

Other posts:

• Top Ten Tuesday: Bookish Goals for 2025
• What Are You Reading Wednesday

What I’m reading:

For the weekend, I’m focusing on Mr Pottermack’s Oversight, by R. Austin Freeman — a classic mystery — and Sing Like Fish: How Sound Rules Life Under Water by Amorina Kingdon. I’m having fun so far, though I’m going slower than I’d like with my reading, a sure sign of a somewhat overly busy week.

Still, I got a few books finished (more than I’d thought), so here’s a sneak peek of what I read and plan to review, this week.

And that’s it for me, for this week! Any exciting reading plans, folks?

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