Happy Saturday! It’s been a quiet week around here, and I haven’t been feeling much like reading — but I did finally sort out my library card, and I got some tempting books out, so there’s hope.

Books acquired this week

First up, my haul from the library:

As you see, I got quite enthusiastic! The first five are the ones I picked up from a bike trip down to the main library, while the latter three I grabbed on Libby.

I also got a review copy this week, of a book I’ve been very eagerly anticipating. Thanks, Tor!

And finally, two that I bought. The latest volume of A Side Character’s Love Story is out, and my British Library Crime Classic book from my subscription arrived for this month.

As you see, there’s a lot to tempt me!

Posts from this week

As usual, let’s do a bit of a roundup. First the reviews:

• Danmei (romance)/fantasy: Heaven Official’s Blessing, vol 3, by MXTX (4/5 stars)
• Art history: The Sarpedon Krater, by Nigel Spivey (4/5 stars)
• Classic crime: The Murder on the Links, by Agatha Christie (2/5 stars)
• Science non-fiction: Invisible Friends: How Microbes Shape Our Lives and the World Around Us, by Jake M. Robinson (2/5 stars)

And other posts:

• Top Ten Tuesday: Books That Provide a Much-Needed Escape
• What Are You Reading Wednesday

What I’m reading

As I mentioned above, I haven’t been reading a lot this week. I’m onto a flashback arc again in Heaven Official’s Blessing, and I know it’s also pretty dark, so I’ve not been super drawn to that… and in general, I haven’t been in the mood very much. I think it’s picking up today, though: I finally got back to my long-neglected reread of Jonathan Strange & Mr Norrell, and I’m quite tempted to pick up one or two of my library books.

Here are the books I’ve finished this week that I plan to review on the blog:

I did read some poetry collections as well, but I don’t plan to review those on the blog.

So that’s been my week! How’s everyone else doing?

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 been a quiet week around here — at least in terms of books! But I did get a bicycle, after several years of not cycling, so that was exciting. I’m looking forward to getting out and about a bit more; normally I go for walks, but you can’t get very far that way, at least not in a limited time like a lunch break. I already did some exploring of the local villages, which was a fun ride!

Books acquired this week

N/a! Yep, absolutely nothing new this week. I did start a new serial on Serial Reader, so perhaps we can count that just to add some colour to this entry…

Posts from this week

Here’s the usual roundup of the posts I’ve been making. Reviews first!

• Science non-fiction: The Last Days of the Dinosaurs: An Asteroid, Extinction, and the Beginning of Our World, by Riley Black (3/5 stars)
• History/science non-fiction: They Were Here Before Us: Stories from Our First Million Years, by Ran Barkai and Eyal Halfon (4/5 stars)
• Classic mystery: The Mysterious Affair at Styles, by Agatha Christie (3/5 stars)
• SF comic: Clear, by Scott Snyder & Francis Manapul (1/5 stars)

And the other posts:

• Top Ten Tuesday: Books Involving Food
• What Are You Reading Wednesday

What I’m reading

Today I’ve been focusing on volume 5 of Heaven Official’s Blessing, where I keep thinking that “Yakety Sax” would be the perfect background music… At times it’s a bit sillier and more slapstick than I typically enjoy, but I do love the characters.

It’s been a slow week for reading, but here’s a sneak preview of the books I read which will be reviewed on the blog in due course:

And that’s it for now! Hope everyone’s been having a good week.

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 been a pretty normal week, as things go, which is nice after feeling pretty busy and frazzled of late! It’s been a quieter week reading-wise, but that’s fine.

Books acquired this week

Without further ado, let’s finish off looking at my birthday haul (part one was last week, if folks are curious). As usual, it’s a mixture. Here’s the rest of the fiction…

A bit of romance, a bit of murder — as you do (at least around here).

And here’s the rest of the non-fic:

As ever, quite the mix. 🙂

Posts from this week

Aaand here’s the roundup of reviews posted:

• History non-fiction: Colour: Travels Through the Paintbox, by Victoria Finlay (3/5 stars)
• SF/F comic: Dominion vol 3: The Fist of God, by Thomas Fenton et al (2/5 stars)
• SF/F cosy romance: Can’t Spell Treason Without Tea, by Rebecca Thorne (3/5 stars)
• Chinese light novel, fantasy/romance/mystery with a dash of horror: Heaven Official’s Blessing, vol 2, by MXTX (4/5 stars)

Other posts:

• Top Ten Tuesday: Posts That Reveal Me
• What Are You Reading Wednesday

What I’m reading

As I mentioned, it’s been a quieter week reading-wise, but it’s been nice. I’m deep into Heaven Official’s Blessing, of course, and not taking long between volumes as it’s really designed as one continuous story (it was a webnovel). I also started using an app called Serial Reader again, which means I’ve been reading some Agatha Christie, small segments at a time. I’ve read a lot less Christie than you’d imagine, given my love for Golden Age crime. I’m now onto The Murder on the Links.

In any case, here are the books I’ve read this week which I’ll be reviewing on the blog sooner or later…

And th-th-that’s all folks! I hope everyone’s had a good week.

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 ever, I’m a little behind on comments — I swear one of these days I’ll get back on track with my life!

It’s been a somewhat busy week, with my birthday on Tuesday and my exam results on Thursday, but I was spoiled and the results were good, so all is well.

Books acquired this week

My birthday haul is a little ridiculous, so I’m going to split it into two posts, this week and next week. So first up, here’s the new batch of danmei that I grabbed using birthday money and Waterstones stamps:

But of course my wife also spoiled me a lot, so here’s some of the non-fiction I got:

The MIT Press Essential Knowledge Series has a fascinating range of books, I foresee a new collection on my part (uhoh).

Aaand finally, here’s some of the non-danmei fiction:

I really hope that I like A Sinister Revenge (and A Grave Robbery) more than the last book — I didn’t like the nature of the conflict between Veronica and Stoker, nor Veronica hiding things from him, so it’s possible things will get straightened out now.

So that’s a heck of a haul, and like I said, that’s not even all of it!

Posts from this week

As usual, here’s a roundup of my reviews and other posts from this week!

• Dark academia romance: A Study in Drowning, by Ava Reid (2/5 stars)
• Science non-fiction: The Long History of the Future: Why Tomorrow’s Tech Still Isn’t Here, by Nicole Kobie (3/5 stars)
• Chinese light novel: Heaven Official’s Blessing, vol 1, by Mo Xiang Tong Xiu (4/5 stars)
• History non-fiction: The Book of Looms: A History of the Handloom from Ancient Times to the Present, by Eric Broudy (4/5 stars)

Other posts:

• Top Ten Tuesday: Characters I’d Like To Be Pals With
• What Are You Reading Wednesday

What I’m reading

I’ve started my wife on reading Heaven Official’s Blessing as well — which usually means they quickly overtake me and read the whole thing while I’m still on book two, getting distracted by other books. I’m trying not to let that happen this time, so we experience the story at about the same pace, so I’ve been spending time with volume two this weekend.

That said, I’m also reading Universal Basic Income (Karl Widerquist) and Wormwood Abbey (Christina Baehr), and there’s been plenty of other reading going on too. Here’s the preview of the books I finished this week, which I’m due to review on the blog soon/eventually, or which may already have reviews posted:

As you see, a good week for reading, helped by an impromptu day off work for my birthday.

Now all the birthday festivities and exam shenanigans are over, it’s time to settle down with my book… How’s everyone been doing?

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

Getting this post up bright and early (…compared to usual) because today I’m heading out for a nerdy museum trip to celebrate my birthday (which is on Tuesday). Somehow I’m sure I’ll pass by a bookshop as well…

Books acquired this week

We’re finally on the tail-end of my last haul, just as my birthday hurtles toward us promising yet more books (oh no!). Here’s the last of the non-fiction I haven’t already shown off:

Huh, makes a kinda pattern with those colours. I didn’t do that intentionally, but kinda cool. As ever, it’s a bit of a random mix; I wonder if Fabric is going to cover pretty much the same ground as Worn, which I read recently. I might backburner it for a while for that reason.

And here’s the remainder of the fiction:

I’m excited about A Sorceress Comes to Call, and Til Death Do Us Bard looks fun (if maybe a bit silly).

And of course, I did also receive this month’s British Library Crime Classic. It’s by an author I’ve read before, but I don’t think any of his full-length novels have been republished in this series yet (maybe some short stories):

And finally, a bit on a whim, a bit because I do like having some shorter fiction on hand, here’s a review copy from Tordotcom, via Netgalley:

It sounds pretty weird and maybe not my thing, but it’s always worth a try with Tor’s novellas.

Posts from this week

As ever, time for a bit of a recap of this week’s posts. Starting with the reviews:

• Historical romance: The Nobleman’s Guide to Seducing a Scoundrel, by KJ Charles (4/5 stars)
• Literary fiction: Remarkably Bright Creatures, by Shelby Van Pelt (2/5 stars)
• History non-fiction: Worn: A People’s History of Clothing, by Sofi Thanhauser (4/5 stars)
• Romance manga: Turns Out My Online Friend is My Real-Life Boss! vol 1, by Nmura (2/5 stars)

And the other posts:

• Top Ten Tuesday: On the Road (ten books featuring travel)
• What Are You Reading Wednesday

What I’m reading

Right now, I’m most actively reading the first volume of Heaven Official’s Blessing (MXTX) and Invisible Friends: How Microbes Shape Our Lives and the World Around Us (Jake M. Robinson). I’m actually going to head to the bookshop surreptiously to get the next two volumes of Heaven Official’s Blessing while I’m out today, because I can tell I’m going to be annoyed if I run out and I don’t have the next volume ready.

It feels like I’ve done a lot of reading this week, but let’s see… here’s a sneak peek at upcoming reviews:

Plus a manga I don’t plan to review (because I never have much to say about any individual volume of Fairy Tail).

So not a bad reading week!

How’s everyone else been doing? Got anything fascinating on your ‘next up’ pile?

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 really good week reading-wise, even if I’ve generally not felt so great. And the cooler weather has been nice! Without further ado, let’s get talking about the important stuff.

Books acquired this week

Here’s the second part of my epic haul from my weekend jaunt with a friend from FFXIV! First up, some more of the non-fiction:

And here’s a couple of the fiction books I got (though this haul really was heavy on non-fic):

 

Yep, I know: “what an eclectic mix!” 😀

Next week will mark the last bunch from this haul… just in time for a probable birthday-haul the week after, haha.

Posts from this week

Here’s a quick roundup of the reviews I posted this week:

• Fantasy: Threading the Labyrinth, by Tiffani Angus (1/5 stars)
• Non-fiction: Standard Deviations: Flawed Assumptions, Tortured Data, and Other Ways To Lie With Statistics, by Gary Smith (2/5 stars)
• Fantasy comic: Dominion vol 2: The Sandman, by Thomas Fenton et al (3/5 stars)
• Classic mystery: Trent’s Last Case, by E.C. Bentley (3/5 stars)

And other posts:

• Top Ten Tuesday: Ten Favourites from Ten Series
• What Are You Reading Wednesday

What I’m reading

Right now, I’m partway through Rebecca Thorpe’s Can’t Spell Treason Without Tea, for the promise of a cosy fantasy. I may follow up with The Spellshop (Sarah Beth Durst), because cosy sounds good for the moment.

And here are the books which I finished this week that I’ll be posting reviews of soon (or already have):

Yep, I know: what a weird/eclectic mix!

Hope everyone’s having a good and bookish week.

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

Wow, it’s been a warm week! I’m not really built for warm weather… nor for cold weather… I think I’m just not really built for weather. But the sunshine has been nice on my walks, I must admit!

The latest Bookly readathon has started, so I have been doing a little more reading than I was, and I hope the week ahead will be pretty busy, reading-wise. Especially given the haul I got last weekend.

Books acquired this week

I’m going to split my haul over the next 2-3 weeks, since I got a lot of books in one go. (Next haul… probably due the week after that, since August 20th is my birthday, ahaha.) First up, a little non-fiction:

 

And here’s a couple of the fiction books I got as well:

It’s a rather random mix, I know, just like the full haul. I do love having such a range around to read!

Posts from this week

Here goes the usual roundup:

• Fantasy: The Hands of the Emperor, by Victoria Goddard (5/5 stars)
• Classic crime: Tour de Force, by Christianna Brand (2/5 stars)
• Horror/fantasy/romance comic: Love Everlasting vol 1, by Matt Hollingsworth, Tom King & Elsa Charretier (4/5 stars)
• Non-fiction: The Brutish Museums: The Benin Bronzes, Colonial Violence and Cultural Restitution, by Dan Hicks (3/5 stars)

Other posts:

• Top Ten Tuesday: Characters I Want To See More Of
• What Are You Reading Wednesday

What I’m reading

Right now I’m trying to finish up one of my new books, Standard Deviations, which is all about how data/statistics can be twisted to support totally made-up or opposite conclusions. It’s pretty well-explained, though I do have the advantage that I have (of necessity, as a science student) done two courses on stats.

It’s been a fun week, with some comics I plan to review and some manga which I won’t, alongside my chunkier non-fiction reads. Here are the books I read this week which I will post reviews of soon:

Combined with the manga I read, it was definitely a busy reading week!

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! I’m writing this in the evening after spending the day hanging out with a friend and absolutely raiding a bookshop. I’ve spent a little much today, but I’m happy, haha. But I’ll save that haul for the next couple weeks, since I haven’t unpacked it and added it to my StoryGraph yet.

Books acquired this week

Just one for now, since I’m not listing the ones I got today yet! I think I’d vaguely known this was coming, and then forgotten, so it was a nice surprise when Leah mentioned it in a comment and I realised it was out!

I’m excited to read this one!

Reviews posted this week

Time for a bit of a round-up!

• Mystery: Summers End, by Juneau Black (4/5 stars)
• Science non-fiction: Written in Bone: Hidden Stories in What We Leave Behind, by Sue Black (4/5 stars)
• Fantasy comic: Dominion vol 1: The Resurrection of Jason Ash, by Thomas Fenton et al (2/5 stars)
• History non-fiction: The Subversive Stitch: Embroidery and the Making of the Feminine, by Rozsika Parker (4/5 stars)

Other posts:

• Top Ten Tuesday: Debut Novels I Enjoyed
• What Are You Reading Wednesday

What I’m reading

I’ve been back to reading a bit more widely this week, though I haven’t finished many books yet. I’m well behind on my reading goals, but a Bookly readathon is coming, so I’m hopeful that’ll help me catch up a bit!

Here’s a glimpse at the books I’ll be reviewing sometime soon:

I really liked Written in Bone, so now I’m reading All That Remains. It’s a bit more memoir-y, at least so far, and made me cry a little a couple of times (let’s say the discussion of the decline and death of someone with dementia hits a little close to home). I think from reviews it does go on to talk a bit more about the author’s work as a forensic anthropologist, though, which should be interesting.

Other than that, as I discussed in my WWW Wednesday post, I’m finally digging into KJ Charles’ The Nobleman’s Guide to Seducing a Scoundrel, which I’m loving (and still has me pretty curious, as I haven’t read much more since Wednesday — yet). I also rather randomly picked up Emily Henry’s Book Lovers, which I’m having fun with so far.

How’s everyone else doing?

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! There’s still not a lot going on for me reading-wise, but it always goes in phases for me, and I’m not sweating it. Reading’s not my job, it’s meant to be for fun, after all.

Plus, the fact that I’m not acquiring more books is not so bad: I have a bookshop trip with a friend coming up next week (most likely), and my birthday coming up in August (definitely), so… quiet weeks are good, if only because I’m running out of space.

Books acquired this week

N/a! I did look at requesting some on Netgalley, but I didn’t feel the excitement, so I decided to give it a miss (for now at least).

I should’ve pre-ordered KJ Charles’ new book, but I forgot. Hoping to pick that up next week!

Posts from this week

Here’s the usual roundup of what I’ve been posting!

• Comics: Foxes in Love, vol 3, by Toivo Kaartinen (4/5 stars)
• History non-fiction: Out of the Depths: A History of Shipwrecks, by Alan G. Jamieson (3/5 stars)
• Historical fiction/fantasy: The Winter Prince, by Elizabeth E. Wein (4/5 stars)
• History non-fiction: Nefertiti’s Face: The Creation of an Icon, by Joyce Tyldesley (4/5 stars)
• History non-fiction: Hands of Time: A Watchmaker’s History, by Rebecca Struthers (4/5 stars)

Other posts:

• Top Ten Tuesday: Things I Loved About The Scum Villain’s Self-Saving System

What I’m reading

I’ve still been mostly re-reading the Narnia books, which I’m not going to review here again, but I did this week finish one new book I’ll review soon:

It’s a fun addition to the Shady Hollow series; I enjoyed it a lot.

I did start picking up some other new-to-me books this week as well, though I haven’t finished them yet, including Sue Black’s Written In Bone, which is fascinating (if sometimes gruesome) and Victoria Finlay’s Colour, which is pretty fascinating. Perhaps I’ll finish them in the week ahead!

Hope everyone’s having a good one!

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